WS Chronicle

Photo by Todd Luck

BY TODD LUCK 

THE CHRONICLE

The Winston-Salem City Council will vote Monday on a $1.6 million loan for the Housing Authority of Winston-Salem (HAWS) to purchase and rehabilitate New Hope Manor.

This loan for the distressed apartment complex came before the council in September, but was sent back to committee because of concerns about whether the amount spent to rehab the apartments would be enough.

HAWS plans to demolish seven of the 18 buildings there that are unfit for habitation and rehabilitate the remaining 79 units. Director Larry Woods told the council at the time that the renovations would be substantial not only to the apartments but would also make security improvements at the complex like surveillance cameras.

During a Monday, Dec. 12, finance committee meeting, Ritchie Brooks, the city’s director of community and business development, said his staff had confirmed that the renovations would be enough to get the remaining apartments at or above building code standards.

Woods described to the committee conditions at New Hope with squatters and loiterers, cars coming in and out from drug sales, and trash that wasn’t being picked up regularly. He felt HAWS could turn the complex into safe, quality affordable housing

“We feel we can make a difference here,” he said.

The acquisition is part of a larger plan for HAWS to get a federal Choice Neighborhoods grant that would allow for the demolition of New Hope and Cleveland Avenues Homes, and replace them with small apartment buildings, single family homes and town homes. The grant allows for existing tenants to be relocated with case management that will help them with education and employment. If this happens, New Hope will be sold to a private developer and the city will be repaid. The nationally competitive grant is awarded annually. If HAWS doesn’t get it next year, it would keep reapplying for the grant.

The city loan would come from 2014 general obligation bonds with $900,000 going for acquisition, which is a deferred zero interest loan paid back upon the sale or transfer of the property.  The rest is a zero interest loan that will be deferred for 20 years, but will have pilot payments and include one unit set aside for city use.

HAWS also plans to use $1.2 million in other loans to help with the total acquisition cost, which is $1.8 million, and with rehabilitation, which will cost $1.2 million. The current owners of the property are New Hope Holdings, which is owned by Nathan Tabor, and Pinnacle Properties of Randolph County, which is managed by Bobby Crumley. Both will be taking a loss from the sale, as will Carolina Bank, which lent the two companies money.

The finance committee voted to send it to full council, as did the general governance committee.

“We need to vote this to move ahead, or move on, but if we do not support this, we will leave some people in a very serious situation,” said Mayor Pro Tempore Vivian Burke.

Woods said that HAWS would move quickly to acquire New Hope, but was unsure when it would close on the property.