Report: Overhaul public housing

In a draft master plan to improve public housing in Charlottesville, consultants are calling for all of the city’s 376 public housing units to be substantially rehabilitated or replaced.

The draft was released Wednesday, and the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority Board hopes to approve a final version by mid-January.

“We’re coming to the end of a master planning process that’s going to produce a framework for revitalizing public housing,” said Mayor Dave Norris, who sits on the authority’s board.

The draft calls for mixed-income communities at the majority of the housing authority sites. The plan also calls for an expansion of affordable housing options, by creating 130 new rental units for residents earning only 30 percent to 50 percent of the area’s median income.

Based on data and interviews, city leaders and consultants have examined which public housing sites are best suited for demolition and which could be rehabilitated within the next decade.

Westhaven has the largest concentration of public housing in Charlottesville, with 126 units, but those units offer “very limited” opportunities for rehabilitation, consultants conclude, because the walls are concrete masonry and the floors consist of concrete slabs.

Wallace Roberts & Todd — which also completed a master plan for the Downtown Mall in 2005 — is leading the public housing master planning process.

“It’s important to note that this is just a framework. These are not going to be detailed architectural plans,” Norris said of the plan, which has cost more than $300,000.

When the projects will be done is a “big question,” Norris said, adding that the timeline is largely dependant on when the city can receive state and federal funding for the projects, which will likely cost tens of millions of dollars, “if not more than $100 million.”

Only a small portion of the projects will be paid for using city funds, Norris said.

Charlottesville spokesman Ric Barrick said public input is essential for efforts to improve public housing to be successful.

“Obviously, the revitalization and rehabilitation of the housing authority is of great value to the community, and the city supports it 100 percent, and we’re proud that the community has come out and supported it thus far,” Barrick said. “But we need even more participation to make it as successful as it can be.”

The draft master plan is available at cvillehousing.org.

The public will have the opportunity to review the plans from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Dec. 3 at the Portico Event Center, at 205 Monticello Ave.