Nashville Public Housing Projects (Memphis, Germantown: section 8, real estate, apartment complexes)

[jbmill3]

Could anyone tell me the locations of the public housing projects in Nashville? (A map of the various projects would be ideal, but I'll take verbal descriptions if no maps are readily available.)

I am familiar with the project South of Shelby between 5th and 8th in East Nashville. I am vaguely aware of another somewhere North of Wedgewood between 8th Ave. and 14th Ave., though I don't really know the precise location. I'm also aware that there's one somewhere very near Germantown, but don't know anything else about it. I don't know the location of any others.

I'm asking just to get my bearings in looking at real estate. I'm not necessarily opposed to living near a public project, but want to be fully aware before purchasing.

Thanks.

[alleycat]

Nashville.gov - Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency - Housing - Families (http://www.nashville.gov/mdha/families.htm - broken link)

[jbmill3]

That's great--thanks!

[ben52284]

I may have too small a sample set to compare against, but some of those newer developments are the prettiest projects I've ever seen.

[Mike in TN]

Originally Posted by ben52284

...those newer developments are the prettiest projects I've ever seen.

They definitely are. New public housing looks nothing like the old ones. I'm sure they'll be ruined soon though.

[alleycat]

Originally Posted by Mike in TN

They definitely are. New public housing looks nothing like the old ones. I'm sure they'll be ruined soon though.

I agree (on both counts). It's a shame too. I'm sure there are people who live in those places who try to keep it neat and clean, or at least not trash the place, but there's another 25% or more who live there who don't give a crap about anything.

[yank283]

Originally Posted by alleycat

I agree (on both counts). It's a shame too. I'm sure there are people who live in those places who try to keep it neat and clean, or at least not trash the place, but there's another 25% or more who live there who don't give a crap about anything.

And the people who are actually trying to better their lives in the midst of gang violence and the felons that will eventually leach their way back into public housing (even though they are not supposed to be eligible).

[Carol McCullough]

Originally Posted by Mike in TN

They definitely are. New public housing looks nothing like the old ones. I'm sure they'll be ruined soon though.

While I am not always a fan of MDHA's approach to things, my impression is that they are actually doing a very good job screening the tenants in the new Hope VI developments. For one, tenants must have a job or be in school, unless they are disabled (at least, that is true at Sam Levy, which is near me).

My impression is that a lot of the folks that were problems at public housing in the past have actually moved into privately owned apartment complexes, duplexes and even single family homes (a significant number of which accept section 8 vouchers, but it isn't limited to that). There are obviously advantages and disadvantages to this. At least it tends to be scattered rather than concentrated. At least, if the property is smaller, it is more likely and feasible to be dealt with if a neighborhood is organized enough to respond.

One real challenge, however, is these large privately owned apartment complexes. Many are as bad or worse than public housing and living in very near proximity (typically this means adjacent to the property) can be problematic. If you are wanting to keep public housing in mind during your real estate search, you will also want to attune to these larger private complexes as well. The problem ones in East Nashville that are top priorities for the police tend to be Riverchase Apartments (formerly called Lane Gardens), Dellway Villa Apartments and Copperstone Apartments (formerly called Litton Apartments).

I certainly don't want to paint with too broad a brush here. There are plenty of renters and recipients of Section 8 vouchers that are conscientious and hard working. Unfortunately, you don't tend to notice those folks so much because they don't end up on the news.

[Mike in TN]

Very good points Carol! I've noticed this as well with many of the apartment complexes.

[jbmill3]

Thanks Carol--that's tremendously helpful. By the way, if anyone is interested in the issue Carol raised, the Atlantic recently ran a truly superb article on this topic, discussing the spread of crime from concentrated pockets into more areas of cities as public projects are demolished and replaced with Section 8 and similar vouchers. The article is focused on Memphis, but it's fully applicable to any urban area. It's a few pages long but well worth reading in full (again, if these issues interest you). The article is available here:

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