DESCRIPTION OF ISSUE
RESPONSES

DESCRIPTION OF ISSUE:
As large-scale apartment complexes age and become increasingly dilapidated, public agencies seek ways to fund renovations or replacements for low-income housing. Many apartment complexes in the Heart of the City have come to need major renovations in recent decades or have been deemed structurally unsound. Several have undergone forclosure. Many of these have been renovated or completely rebuilt.

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RESPONSES:
Demo-Dispo:
The most significant source of funding for major renovations and reconstruction of low-income housing developments in the Heart of the City has been the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Demonstration Disposition "Demo Dispo" program. Administered by MassHousing, the State's housing authority, this program has renovated or rebuilt many groups of properties in the Heart of the City, including:

-- The Franklin Park Apartment complex, which consists of 19 buildings, received more than $31 million in renovations through the Demo Dispo program in 2000 and 2001. HUD foreclosed on the apartments in 1990. The complex is divided into three developments -- Franklin Park I with 181 units, Franklin Park II with 89 units, and Franklin Park Townhomes, with 16 units. Once completed, residents will own the Franklin Park Townhomes.

-- The Fieldstone Apartment complex was built in 1920 and foreclosed on in 1991. The apartments were rehabilitated through the Demo Dispo program for more than $3 million and were completed in 1999.

-- Theroch Apartments are comprised of nine buildings on Sonoma Street, Elm Hill Avenue, Maple Street, Columbia Road, Ellington Street, and Glenway Street in Grove Hall in Dorchester. The Apartments were constructed in 1920, foreclosed on in 1991, and are being renovated by the Demo Dispo program for more than $20 million. One-hundred-and-five families have been relocated as a result of this effort.

-- Academy II Homes are being entirely rebuilt as part of the Demo Dispo program. Demolition of 315 vacant units began in September 2001. By November of 2003, 236 new units of housing were nearing completion at a total cost of about $42 million.

Hope VI:
Hope VI has provided another source of funding for housing rehabilitation but was eliminated in the Bush administration's 2003 budget. Hope VI funding has been available to residents in public housing complexes. Tenant groups in dilapidated facilities could choose to pursue Hope VI funding to rebuild their housing developments. Although the federally funded process ultimately led to higher quality housing, tenant groups that choose to "go Hope VI" were displaced from their homes for a period of time and the total number of available units in a development often decreased.

In 2001, the Franklin Hill Tenants Association considered applying for HOPE VI funding, but ultimately decided that the costs of rebuilding were greater than the potential benefits of a higher standard of living.

Community Development Corporations (CDCs):
CDCs such as Urban Edge specialize in purchasing housing that is in poor condition and rehabilitating it. Urban Edge has rehabilitated 70 units on Waldren and Wardman Roads, as well as numerous units along Columbus Avenue, Boylston Street, and Washington Avenue (all in the Egleston Square area).

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