Savannah housing authority continuing community expansion beyond downtown (Atlanta, Richmond Hill: low income, real estate)

[Airforceguy]

While I respect the housing authority for not wanting to push low income people out to the fringes of the city, I think it is foolish for them not to sell Yamacraw and Kayton to private developers. It's only a matter of time before these areas will become hot property. Especially in light of all the new developments and rehabs taking place around these two projects.

For decades, the housing authority has provided public housing on the outskirts of the Historic District. The communities include more than 700 apartments at Herbert Kayton, Simon F. Frazier and Yamacraw Village on the west side of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, where the average rent is between $113 and $164, according to housing authority officials.

Meanwhile, multi-million dollar residential and commercial developments are underway or being planned around the communities, in addition to the new arena the city hopes to build as the central fixture of a proposed Canal District that could include apartments, shops and hotels.

Recently, two of the communities - Yamacraw, on the southside of West Bay Street, and Kayton, on the northside of Gwinnett Street - were included in a overlay district the city council approved to control the size and location of hotels downtown. During its development, the overlay district was amended so that Yamacraw and Kayton were included in a zone that allowed large hotels, after initially including them in a zone where hotels were prohibited. City officials, hotel representatives and others involved in the city ordinance’s development insist there was no discussion about building hotels at the sites, however.

Savannah housing authority continuing community expansion beyond downtown | SavannahNow

[bellhead]

I love the Gateway idea, let's put a bunch of people who don't drive 15 miles outside of the urban miles away from a grocery store & with no buses...

[Newsboy]

Originally Posted by bellhead

I love the Gateway idea, let's put a bunch of people who don't drive 15 miles outside of the urban miles away from a grocery store & with no buses...

I know you’re being sarcastic, but as the massive overhaul of Atlanta’s public housing proved, bulldozing the projects and giving the residents vouchers to go live in the suburbs does not fix the problems — it just transfers them out to the suburbs. The same would happen in Savannah.

That said, Yamacraw Village IS prime valuable real estate surrounded on three sides by upscale hotels, housing and SCAD properties. It makes zero sense for the Savannah Housing Authority to hold on to those apartments. They could sell them, build replacement housing and still turn a profit.

[Iconographer]

Originally Posted by Newsboy

I know you’re being sarcastic, but as the massive overhaul of Atlanta’s public housing proved, bulldozing the projects and giving the residents vouchers to go live in the suburbs does not fix the problems — it just transfers them out to the suburbs. The same would happen in Savannah.

That said, Yamacraw Village IS prime valuable real estate surrounded on three sides by upscale hotels, housing and SCAD properties. It makes zero sense for the Savannah Housing Authority to hold on to those apartments. They could sell them, build replacement housing and still turn a profit.

In some ways, it makes things worse. Police often complain about the fact that when the housing projects were up, crime was more contained and they knew where to patrol for potential problems. Now that former residents are vouchered up and shipped out to the burbs, it's anyone's guess as to where problems will arise. Razing the projects was tantamount to lancing a boil.

[bellhead]

Originally Posted by Newsboy

I know you’re being sarcastic, but as the massive overhaul of Atlanta’s public housing proved, bulldozing the projects and giving the residents vouchers to go live in the suburbs does not fix the problems — it just transfers them out to the suburbs. The same would happen in Savannah.

That said, Yamacraw Village IS prime valuable real estate surrounded on three sides by upscale hotels, housing and SCAD properties. It makes zero sense for the Savannah Housing Authority to hold on to those apartments. They could sell them, build replacement housing and still turn a profit.

I am, but moving people out to 204/95??? There is nothing out there but gas stations, hotels, & a strip mall. If they would have said Georgetown close to the Walmart & flee market, then it wouldn't be a issue.

[SavannahLife]

it's Savannah city council. So dumb they buy a building, then decide to find out whether it's structurally intact. (it wasn't) Why would they bother seeing whether residents that don't drive are near grocery and transit when they could just throw money around and leave work early for the day?

I predicted this a while back... Kessler and the big chain hotel owners are not going to tolerate this crime much longer. They'll make the council, who works for them, move all the low-income projects somewhere else. That will just move the crime and not solve the problem, though. I had a unique solution, build a new complex that was residential/job training/police station all in one, so it would be live/work/play safely etc. I have never seen anything like that so maybe there is a reason it wouldn't work? Don't know. All I know is whatever we're doing isn't working. If they put the hundreds of millions for the arena toward that maybe we'd have a few less homicides a month. Sounds more important than a better music venue, which can always be built anyhow in the future once safety is improved.

[bellhead]

Originally Posted by SavannahLife

it's Savannah city council. So dumb they buy a building, then decide to find out whether it's structurally intact. (it wasn't) Why would they bother seeing whether residents that don't drive are near grocery and transit when they could just throw money around and leave work early for the day?

I predicted this a while back... Kessler and the big chain hotel owners are not going to tolerate this crime much longer. They'll make the council, who works for them, move all the low-income projects somewhere else. That will just move the crime and not solve the problem, though. I had a unique solution, build a new complex that was residential/job training/police station all in one, so it would be live/work/play safely etc. I have never seen anything like that so maybe there is a reason it wouldn't work? Don't know. All I know is whatever we're doing isn't working. If they put the hundreds of millions for the arena toward that maybe we'd have a few less homicides a month. Sounds more important than a better music venue, which can always be built anyhow in the future once safety is improved.

Better Idea..

Savannah Council spends money to build a low income complexs in Pooler, Richmond Hill, Tybee, & Wilmington Isle. For the low cost of $50 to $100 million we can permanently deal with the issue.

[ajc100890]

Originally Posted by SavannahLife

it's Savannah city council. So dumb they buy a building, then decide to find out whether it's structurally intact. (it wasn't) Why would they bother seeing whether residents that don't drive are near grocery and transit when they could just throw money around and leave work early for the day?

I predicted this a while back... Kessler and the big chain hotel owners are not going to tolerate this crime much longer. They'll make the council, who works for them, move all the low-income projects somewhere else. That will just move the crime and not solve the problem, though. I had a unique solution, build a new complex that was residential/job training/police station all in one, so it would be live/work/play safely etc. I have never seen anything like that so maybe there is a reason it wouldn't work? Don't know. All I know is whatever we're doing isn't working. If they put the hundreds of millions for the arena toward that maybe we'd have a few less homicides a month. Sounds more important than a better music venue, which can always be built anyhow in the future once safety is improved.

FYI. The Housing Authority of Savannah is its own entity. Although created as a resolution of the City of Savannah in the 1930s in response to Georgia state law, the body has its own board and makes its own decisions. They receive funding from the State and Federal governments. Remember, they weren't consulted about zoning changes that made their projects correctly zoned for large scale hotels.

I kind of doubt Kessler is in anyone's pockets, or any other hoteliers for that matter. After all, the MPC and City Council proposed hotel zoning changes without initially consulting the hotel industry.