Spartanburg Housing Authority Celebrates Rehabilitation of Victoria Gardens Through RAD

Victoria Gardens Apartments was first built in 1970. The transformation project began in October 2020 and was completed in five phases.

Ken Free, HUD Southeast Acting Deputy Regional Administrator, and Shaunté Evans, CEO of Spartanburg Housing Authority, celebrate the rehabilitation of Victoria Gardens Apartments.

On December 2, HUD Southeast Acting Deputy Regional Administrator Ken Free joined residents and officials from the Spartanburg Housing Authority in South Carolina to celebrate the final stages of a $17 million project to rehabilitate Victoria Gardens Apartments.

This is the latest success story under the Rental Assistance Demonstration - or RAD - program which provides a powerful tool to preserve and improve public housing authorities. Spartanburg is one of five public housing authorities in South Carolina in the process of converting their public housing units through RAD or other repositioning tools made available through HUD.

Through the initiative, the Spartanburg Housing Authority has converted 537 units, which has enabled the housing authority to secure over $37 million of private and public funding to complete capital repairs and new construction.

"I applaud the Spartanburg Housing Authority for taking the steps that allow critically needed housing to remain permanently affordable for current and future generations," said Free. "And we congratulate the Spartanburg Housing Authority for sharing HUD's commitment of providing safe, decent and affordable housing for its residents."

Victoria Gardens was first built in 1970. Construction for the transformation project began in October 2020 and was completed in five phases over the past year. The first families moved into their new homes in February 2021 and the remaining five families are set to move in over the next month.

"We work very hard to minimize the disruption in the lives of the families that live here," said Shaunté Evans, CEO of Spartanburg Housing during the ceremony. "All families remained in the city."

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