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45 Years of Bridging the Gap
The Housing Authority of the City of Asheville
1985 Annual Report

      
[Cover] 45 Years of Bridging the Gap:
The Housing Authority of the City of Asheville 1985 Annual Report
Special Collections, D.H. Ramsey Library, UNCA

Housing Authority of the City of Asheville

This publication, the Housing Authority of the City of Asheville’s 1985 annual report, provides a current picture of the Housing Authority’s services.  These include day care centers, counseling and referring services for employment, special units for handicapped and elderly residents, and an enrichment program for youths.  The report boasts about the high quality of housing and services, noting, “A recent study of Asheville’s low-rent housing units conducted by the Quadel Consulting Corporation, concluded that ‘Asheville’s housing developments across the board are attractive and in good to excellent condition, reflecting good Authority management and maintenance, prudent use of HUD [Department of Housing and Urban Development] Modernization Funds and better than average tenant upkeep.”   

The report also gives information about a number of current projects, including the Section 8 Rent Subsidy Program, the Community Development Block Grant Funds, and Section 23 development.  Budget and summary information for improvement and development projects in Asheville, from 1964 through 1985, is included.  A letter from Jesse Ray, the Chairman of the Housing Authority, says in part, “I have watched and been a part of families being moved from shanty-town in unbearable housing situations to modern, safe, clean and decent housing. I have watched some of these same families grow in maturity, enter our home ownership counseling program and eventually purchase a “Dollar Lot,” construct their own home and move in as a proud, new home owner. I have been a part of the complete rebuilding of several sections of the City, all of which are now stable, new and beautiful neighborhoods, generating hundreds of thousands of dollars of tax revenue for the City. I have seen the removal of over 2,000 substandard housing units, the rehabilitation of over 500 units and the replacement of nearly 3,000 units of standard housing.”

The Housing Authority of the City of Asheville

1985 Annual Report

Bridging the Gap Between Means And Need for Low and Moderate Income Families

[caption] Of the more than 4,400 people living in Housing Authority owned or leased housing over half are under the age of 18.

The equal housing symbol on the Housing Authority's logo represents a commitment to equal opportunity housing. The people of Housing Authority communities are evidence of a successful integration policy.

During the past fiscal year over 12,000 resident contacts were made. As a result of these contacts, the number of problem cases has been reduced to an all-time low. Not one grease fire was reported and there were only eight (8) evictions for the year.

Founded in 1977 at the Hillcrest community, the Enrichment Program began with 17 youths as part of Asheville Parks and Recreation. The program is now operated by the Housing Authority and has 200 members. It has been expanded to Deaverview community and participation is encouraged from all Housing Authority communities.

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A modernization program designed to avoid long-term deterioration and assure continued livability has utilized $6,748,473.00 in Federal funds since 1969. Projects such as complete renovation of electrical system at Hillcrest Apartments ($33,000.00) replacement of 97 refrigerators at Hillcrest Apartments and Lee-Walker Heights ($36,136.00), and installation of storm windows in Livingston Heights, Eastview and Klondyke Homes ($163,217.00) are typical of the many improvements that have been made under the modernization program.

7-1 Housing Authority Central Office
7-IB Bartlett Arms (114 units)
7-2 Lee Walker Heights (96 units)
7-3 Pisgah View (262 units)
7-4 Hillcrest (234units)
7-5 Erskine-Walton (124 units)
7-6 Aston Park Towers (162 units)
7-8 Livingston Heights (150 units)
7-9 Deaverview (160 units)
7-10 Altamont (56 units)
7-11 Eastview (50 units)
7-12 Klondyke (154 units)
7-13 Bingham Heights (160 units)

A recent study of Asheville's low-rent housing units conducted by the Quadel Consulting Corporation, concluded that "Asheville's housing developments across the board are attractive and in good to excellent condition, reflecting good Authority management and maintenance, prudent use of HUD Modernization Funds and better than average tenant upkeep."

Section 8 rents are set at 30% of adjusted annual family income. The average Section 8 rents range from $51.55 per month for existing units to $62.00 per month for Substantial Rehabilitation and New Construction. There are approximately 180 applications on file.

Bridging the Gap Between Disinvestment and Redevelopment in Declining Urban Neighborhoods

Community Development Block Grant Program Essential to Local Revitalization Efforts

The Community Development Block Grant Funds provide dollars for improving the infrastructure (water, sewer, storm drainage, streets and lighting) in deteriorating neighborhoods occupied by low and moderate income families and individuals. These funds can also be used to acquire blighted structures, relocate the residents and additionally, used to make loans or leverage private and public loans to rehabilitate substandard structures when economically feasible, thus preserving our existing housing stock. The impact of these finds, other than to make a neighborhood more "livable" for low and moderate income families and individuals, is to encourage private reinvestment in the neighborhood and have it seen as an attractive and desirable growth area of our City.

The loss of Community Development Block Grant Funds would have an adverse effect on City efforts to improve substandard housing infrastructure in low and moderate income neighborhoods. With increasing demands and costs to maintain present services the City has been forced to rely on CDBG funds to improve services and preserve our existing housing stock. The cost of providing professional and technical assistance to neighborhoods desiring to develop comprehensive land use plans and community improvement programs is funded almost entirely by CDBG. The loss of these resources would continue if not accelerate the decline of these neighborhoods, reduce property values and perpetuate the feeling of hopelessness of many low and moderate income families and individuals in our City.

Bridging the Gap Between the Present and the Future

The Acquisition and Renovation of 160 Units of Section 23 Development from a Private Developer Saves Housing for Low Income

In order to retain and maintain the low income character of 160 units of housing in Asheville, the Housing Authority formed a not-for-profit organization known as "ASHEVILLE ASSISTED HOUSING, INC." This corporation is acquiring the Bingham Heights development from a private partnership. All units are being renovated and the development is to be converted to the Section 8 Existing Low Income Housing Program, thereby maintaining the units for low income citizens of Asheville and Buncombe County.

Pilot Project Self-Sufficiency

Realizing the federal financial support will continue to dwindle in the future, the Housing Authority has seen the need for the residents to become more independent and self-sufficient. To this end, the Residents Council has incorporated, forming its own not-for-profit organization. This corporation is contracting with the Housing Authority for ground maintenance on several of the Authority's housing developments. The corporation employs its own staff, has purchased its own equipment and this year will contract for additional developments.

Plans are under way for contracts for apartment turn-around and renovations with the final stage being contracts for Resident Management of Housing Developments.

And Efficiency

In addition to providing training and development opportunities to employees, the Housing Authority is implementing a program of computerization. At the present, the Accounting Department is on-line while Tenant Selection and Section Eight are in process. The final phase will be the Maintenance Department. The System should more than pay for its cost in improved efficiency.

Streets Dedicated to City

Under the cooperation agreement between the City and the Housing Authority, the Housing Authority has turned over, and the city has accepted, the maintenance of all streets in all of the Authority's developments. Repairs were made by the Housing Authority to all streets, sidewalks and alleys prior to the dedication.

Other Management Innovations

The Authority has turned over all of the underground gas distribution system in all of the Housing Developments to Public Service Gas Company of North Carolina. The Housing Authority will no longer be responsible or liable for the gas system outside the apartments.

The East End/Valley Street Community Improvement Program combines acquisition, relocation, rebuilding and construction of infrastructure using Community Development Block Grant Funds with innovative Rehabilitation Programs, the Incentive Housing Program for new owner-occupied construction, and the issuance of Redevelopment Bonds for the construction of 164 units of private multi-family housing which will provide a 20% set aside for lower and moderate income families and individuals.

The Pack Plaza Redevelopment Project will utilize Community Development, Revenue Sharing and Urban Development Action Grant funding from the public sector along with private investment and a loan from a local bank consortium to restore and rehabilitate the Pack Square section of historic downtown Asheville.

The Haywood/Wall Street Redevelopment Bond Project will use Redevelopment Bond Proceeds along with private finds from several developers to restore and upgrade vacant and under-utilized historic properties in this area.

The Dollar Lot Program was the first Community Development Program to provide a lot purchase subsidy to stimulate home construction in redevelopment areas. Since its inception in 1977, the Dollar Lot Program has averaged better than 10 new homes per year and has serves as a model for other communities nationwide. In 1982, the Dollar Lot Program received a National Merit Award from the Department of Housing & Urban Development.

Rehabilitation Program

Rehabilitation Programs in the East End Community as well as other previously designated community development areas include a low-income grant program, an owner-occupied and investor-owned rehabilitation loan pool, HUD Section 312 Loans, the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency Home Improvement Loan Program, and participation in round two and three of HUD Rental Rehabilitation Program Demonstration using a Federal National Mortgage Association "FNMA" Tri-Party Loan Agreement.

Mr. Jesse Ray, Sr., Chairman
and Commissioners of the
Housing Authority of the
City of Asheville
Post Office Box 1898
Asheville, North Carolina 28802

Dear Mr. Ray and Commissioners:

On behalf of the Asheville City Council, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Housing Authority for its 45 years of dedicated and devoted service to our community.

The most valuable resource of any City is its citizens. One of the most essential elements to any good community is adequate and affordable housing.

The Housing Authority of the City of Asheville was created by the City in 1940 and was designated as the agency to administer the City's housing and redevelopment program.

The Housing Authority has certainly fulfilled this mandate as evidenced by the Civic Redevelopment Project, the East Riverside Renewal Project, the East End/Valley Street Project, and more than 2,500 units of assisted low income housing situated throughout the City and surrounding County. These modernized, well maintained housing units are home to over 6,000 of Asheville's low income citizens.

Our City Council remains dedicated and committed with the Housing Authority to the goals and ideals of providing housing and rebuilding our neighborhoods and communities. Better housing means a better way of life and a better city for all of us.

Again, please accept out congratulations and our deep appreciation for a job well done.

Very truly yours,

Asheville City Council

W. Louis Bissette, Jr.
Mayor

The Board of Commissioners of the Housing Authority of the City of Asheville is a five (5) member body appointed by the Mayor of the City of Asheville in consultation with City Council. Each Commissioner is appointed to a five (5) year term and may be reappointed to successive terms. The Commissioners elect a Chairman from among themselves. The Commissioners all serve on a voluntary basis and devote many hours each month to matters surrounding the operation of the Housing Authority. They are the source of policy and direction for the Housing Authority.

For the past twenty-one years, I have had the honor and very distinct pleasure of being affiliated with the Housing Authority of the City of Asheville. I have served as Chairman for the past eight years and can speak first-hand and with authority of the many outstanding accomplishments achieved by the staff and Board of Commissioners,

I have watched and been a part of families being moved form shanty-town in unbearable housing situations to modern, safe, clean and decent housing. I have watched some of these same families grow in maturity, enter our home ownership counseling program and eventually purchase a "Dollar Lot," construct their own home and move in as a proud, new home owner.

I have been a part of the complete rebuilding of several sections of the City, all of which are now stable new and beautiful neighborhoods, generating hundreds of thousands of dollars of tax revenue for the City. I have seen the removal of over 2,000 substandard housing units, the rehabilitation of over 500 units and the replacement of nearly 3,000 units of standard housing.

To have been a part of this success is a rewarding experience, one I shall always remember. I extend my thanks for the long hours of patience of our dedicated Board and Staff. May the next forty-five years be as fruitful.

Jesse Ray, Sr.
Chairman

1985 was the 45th year of operations for the Housing Authority if the City if Asheville. This report included accomplishments of both the low-rent public housing program and redevelopment activities. It is presented as a published status report of the Agency's accounting of its stewardship, and a forecast of future activities to be undertaken in the interest of the residents and the general public.

The mark of any great nation is not how it adheres to the will, demands and desires of the affluent, but how it administers to the needs of its poor and needy. Believing in this philosophy, the Housing Authority of the City of Asheville was created 45 years ago to administer to the housing needs of the low-income community in Asheville. The goals as the time were and continue to be:

(1) To provide decent, safe and sanitary housing at an affordable rent to those citizens without adequate housing, and equally important, to provide the kind of living environment that will enrich the lives of both adults and children, and encourage their upward mobility.

(2)Assist the City in the elimination of slums and blighted areas in the designated sections of the City through redevelopment, rehabilitation and conservation.

(3) Manage and maintain these valuable resources once they are completed.

Since the completion of Asheville's first 96 units of public housing, Lee Walker Heights in 1950, the Authority has grown into a large, complicated and diversified organization, housing several thousand people. The housing Authority is the largest landlord in the City.

Working in concert and careful planning with the City and County the Housing Authority had involved the private sector, the State and the Federal Government in a vast array of innovative housing programs. Most of Asheville's blighted areas have been or are in the process of being eliminated.

The year 1985 has been another landmark year for the Housing Authority as indicated in this report. It has been a year of steady progress, improvements, growth, communications and financial stability.

In the preceding and following pages, we have attempted to give an accounting not only of our fiscal stewardship but of our love, devotion and concern for our residents and families needing assistance, for the hundreds still homeless and ill-housed and for the reshaping and rebuilding of our beautiful City of Asheville, North Carolina.

David Jones, Jr.
Executive Director

LOCALLY OWNED PROJECTS

Operating Receipts
Dwelling Rent  58%
HUD Subsidy  33%
Interest on General Fund Investments 5%
Other Income   4%

Operating Expenses
Utilities  41%
Ordinary Maintenance  29%
Administration   13%
General Expense  11%
Capital Exp./Tenant Serv./Nonroutine Maint.  6%

LEASED HOUSING

Operating Receipts
HUD Subsidy  76%
Dwelling Rent   18%
Interest on Investments  3%
Other income  2%

Operating Expenses
Rents & Housing Assistance Payments  50%
Utilities  19%
Routine Maint. 14%
Administration  9%
General Expense  5%
Capital Exp./Tenant Serv./Nonroutine Maint./Prior Year Adjust.  3%

The Housing Authority of the City of Asheville as an incorporated public agency of the City of Asheville is exempt from ad valorem taxes. However, the cooperation agreement between the Housing Authority and the City provides for an annual Payment in Lieu of Taxes. Since 1951, the Housing Authority has paid $578,489.17 in "in Lieu" payments. The Payment in Lieu of Taxes for 1985, amounted to $33,023.35.

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