ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, September 4, 1996 TAG: 9609040093
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LESLIE TAYLOR STAFF WRITER
A plan that started as mere upgrading of one of Roanoke's oldest public housing developments has mushroomed into a total renovation that could cost as much as $20 million.
The Roanoke Redevelopment and Housing Authority unveiled plans Monday to transform the 44-year-old Lincoln Terrace development from an isolated collection of brick buildings into a community of homes with front porches and yards surrounded by white picket fences.
The plan, called "Lincoln 2000," is an ambitious effort to dispel the stereotypes of low-income public housing. The plan was endorsed by Roanoke City Council at its meeting Monday.
"It's no longer sufficient to repair roofs, upgrade the electrical and plumbing systems and put in new doors and windows," said Councilman Jim Trout, who serves as the council's liaison with the authority's Board of Commissioners.
"We need to convert stereotypical 'project units' into homes."
The housing authority had asked council to endorse the plan, although most of the $19 million to $20 million cost will come from federal sources, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The housing authority may ask the city to provide capital expenses, said Neva Smith, the authority's executive director.
HUD has encouraged agencies that oversee the nation's public housing developments to develop initiatives to improve their quality of life and convert them from "repositories" for the low-income population into mixed-income, diverse communities, said project planner Rob Robinson. Robinson works for Urban Design Associates, a Pittsburgh-based urban planning firm. The company is assisting MarshWitt Associates, a Roanoke architectural consulting company hired by the housing authority to develop Lincoln 2000.
From January through April, Robinson worked with a 26-member steering committee of Lincoln Terrace residents, business owners, school administrators and housing authority staff on a plan to improve the development.
The result was a plan to completely change Lincoln Terrace's profile by combining physical renovation with efforts to increase the number of working households and two-parent families and include a broader range of incomes.
The plan proposes removing some units, cutting the number from 300 to 222, or to 12 per acre. The development now has 15 units per acre, which is too many, Robinson said.
Major design elements will include computer hookups in each unit, reconfiguration of streets and the addition of a learning center with 30 computer stations.
The plan suggests developing a "Campus of Learners" to help families move from public assistance to self-sufficiency; "deinstitutionalizing" the development's appearance with renovation; diversifying housing opportunities by building 48 single-family and duplex units, and attracting more moderate-income families to the neighborhood.
The Lincoln Terrace development is within walking distance of Washington Park, the YMCA Family Center, Lincoln Terrace Elementary School, Roanoke school administration offices and Lucy Addison Middle School.
With all those amenities, "you might say this is the greatest place to live in Roanoke," Robinson said. "But the questions we need to ask are 'Is that so? And if it isn't, why?'''
The steering committee identified several problems that detract from the development - the perception of crime; too much open public space, which invites trouble; lack of privacy; and lack of a sense of community.
A major detractor is isolation, Robinson said. The development has no connection to nearby neighborhoods of single-family homes.
That only reinforces public housing's institutional image - a "project," he said.
Lincoln 2000 will be phased in over the next eight to 10 years. The start of construction will depend on how quickly the housing authority can secure funding.
No residents will have to move out of the development, but some will be moved into other Lincoln Terrace units during renovation and construction. The housing authority will pay all moving expenses, Smith said.
At Monday's council meeting, Robinson showed slides of Diggstown, a public housing development in Norfolk that Robinson's company helped revamp four years ago.
The first slide - a "before" shot - showed brick buildings with front doors shielded by short overhangs. Between the buildings was a wide, empty lot, mostly dirt but with occasional tufts of grass.
The second slide - the "after" shot - showed brick homes with painted white porches and picket-fenced lots. Flowers bloomed in front of the porches.
LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: PHILIP HOLMAN/Staff. The steering committee identifiedby CNBproblems that detract from Lincoln Terrace - the perception of
crime, too much open public space, lack of privacy and lack of a
sense of community. Graphic: Front porches and picket fences adorn a
renovated Lincoln Terrace in an artist's rendering for the Roanoke
Redevelopment and Housing Authority. color.