After facing criticism from some City Council members, the Chattanooga Housing Authority plans to survey Westside residents ahead of an overhaul of public housing in that area.
“The City Council has requested the (Chattanooga Housing Authority) to provide a survey of Westside residents to provide a snapshot in time of their desires regarding housing,” the authority said in a statement Tuesday evening. “The CHA will not only do the survey, but will do so annually moving forward and will present the findings to present and future councils.”
Officials plan to replace 629 aging public housing units at College Hill Courts and Gateway Tower — part of a broader effort to bring approximately 1,800 units of affordable and workforce housing to that neighborhood.
The project is financially tied to a billion-dollar revitalization of the 120-acre former Alstom site, now known as The Bend. Developer Urban Story Ventures is seeking a special tax district from the city and Hamilton County that would pay for half of the expected infrastructure costs at the site.
Council Chair Raquetta Dotley, of East Lake, blasted the housing authority during a meeting Tuesday, saying she requested updated information months ago about the number of residents who want to stay. She represents that area. Council members have previously received data collected from a 2020 survey, housing authority Executive Director Betsy McCright told the panel Tuesday.
“I would not consider supporting any of this until I see actual numbers of those who would like to stay and how they will be phased into this project,” Dotley said during the meeting Tuesday.
The housing authority said it would send draft survey questions to the City Council on Wednesday. Members will be able to suggest additions, and the survey will be complete for the City Council to consider in October.
“In 2020, as the project began in the Westside, residents were asked what they would like to call the project for their neighborhood. Their response was, ‘Westside Evolves,'” the authority said. “We are genuinely excited for residents who will have construction jobs in the neighborhood throughout the life of the project. This will lead to good paying jobs and an end to generational poverty, which is part of the Westside Evolves effort, but it all starts with the coming days.”
The agency is making plans to apply for a federal housing grant, which will be a key part of the financing for the Westside project. The deadline is in December, and the authority said it cannot submit an application without financial support available through a special tax district, which the council will be considering in the coming weeks.
(READ MORE: Chattanooga’s Westside evolving with plans for $1 billion redevelopment)
If the tax district doesn’t move forward, the housing authority will have to board up buildings as they become uninhabitable, authority officials said.
“Two recent fires over the last few months led to that action being taken,” authority officials said. “With buildings over 80 years old, there are no other options. The future of the Westside hinges on this project.”
Naveed Minhas, the director of development at the Chattanooga Housing Authority, told council members Tuesday there are 40 units offline at Gateway Tower because of structural deterioration at the building, and officials are investigating another 17.
High winds create micro-cracks and water infiltration in the building, according to the housing authority, and severe water leaks can cause damage to the unit finishes.
The agency recently hosted five meetings to discuss rezoning issues with residents, which more than 150 people attended, the authority said. No elected officials were there, the statement said.
“The CHA is not only open to conversations, but has requested them throughout the process,” the authority said. “We will continue to ask for meetings and invite elected officials to join us in the important conversations to come.”
Contact David Floyd at dfloyd@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6249.
Staff photo / Artist Andrew Travis makes a painting during a block party to announce preliminary plans for the future of College Hill Courts and surrounding area of the westside by the Chattanooga Housing Authority, the city and Urban Design Studio on July 24, 2021.