Choice Neighborhoods Initiative East Savannah Gateway Community - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Choice Neighborhoods Initiative East Savannah Gateway

Community Meeting

April 17, 2012

Agenda

• Welcoming Remarks – Earline Davis, Executive

Director of the Housing Authority of Savannah

• Self-Introductions
• Overview of CNI Program & Planning Process
• Role and Contributions of the Transformation

Team

• Questions and Answers

Overview of the Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grant

• HAS was awarded a Choice Neighborhoods Initiative

Planning Grant by HUD

• HOPE VI public housing revitalization program has

evolved into CNI

• CNI emphasizes community planning at the

neighborhood level

Three Parts of a CNI Plan

• NEIGHBORHOOD
• PEOPLE
• EDUCATION
• COMMUNITY AND SUPPORTIVE SERVICES
• HOUSING

Planning Goals: Neighborhood

Transform the Selected Neighborhood Through:

• Good Services and Amenities
• Quality Schools
• Improved Public Assets
• Convenient Public Transportation
• Access to Jobs

Planning Goals: People

• Education:
• Learning from Cradle to College or Career
• Better Performing Schools and Resources
• Preparation for Employment through training &

business development assistance

• Community and Supportive Services
• Health
• Safety
• Employment
• Increased Homeownership

Planning Goals: Housing

Transform “distressed” Public and Assisted Housing into Housing that is:

• Energy-Efficient
• Mixed-Income
• Well-Designed
• Financially Healthy for the Long Term
• One-for-One Replacement

Illustrative Transformation along Wheaton Street Corridor

Areas of Focus for CNI

• Schools: East Broad, Spencer and Shuman

Elementary and Savannah High School

• Housing: Fred Wessels Homes and the former

Robert Hitch Village site

• Additional Focus Neighborhoods
• -Benjamin Van Clark Park Neighborhood
• -Eastside Concerned Citizens
• -Blackshear Homes Public Housing Community

Neighborhood Context

Neighborhood Planning Area

• -East: Pennsylvania
• -West--Price St./East

Broad

• -North: E. President

Street & River St.

• -South: E. Henry

Street

Neighborhood Context

Community Assets

• Proximity to Downtown
• Completed HOPE VI Development
• Substantial Site Control
• Dedicated Funding Streams
• Other Planning & Development

Underway (e.g., Savannah Gardens, Presidential Square, and Wheaton Street Plan)

• Resident Relocation and Hitch

Demolition Completed

Neighborhood Context

Planning Challenges

• Located in Food Desert
• Poor Walkability
• Under-performing Schools
• Extreme Poverty
• Existing Land Use Patterns
• Difficult Access to Job locations
• Low Property Values & Very Low

Ownership Rates

• High Vacancies & empty lots
• Trend of De-population
• Unemployment over 30%
• Inadequate Health Services

Neighborhood & Housing Context:

• CNI is competitive: High Poverty;

High Crime; Poor-Performing Schools; High long-term Vacancy; and Severe Distress of HUD-Assisted or Public Housing

• Hitch demolished--functional
• bsolescence, age, lack of

amenities, flooding issues, poor site design, lack of defensible space, negligible parking

• Wessels has similar issues,

better overall conditions

Planning Process

• Data Gathering and Analysis
• Community Consultation
• Develop Strategies for Housing, Neighborhood

& People

• Consolidate into Transformation Plan
• Develop Implementation Plan and Funding

Strategy

NEIGHBORHOOD : Social Context

Owner- Occupied Housing

• With some exceptions,

percentage of owner-

• ccupied housing

increases away from historic core

• Eastside study area

~80% rental housing

• South, east:

homeownership generally parallels home value

• West: large

neighborhoods with high homeownership

NEIGHBORHOOD : Social Context

Unemploym ent Rate

• Highest unemployment

in neighborhood surrounding historic core

• Low unemployment to

south, east

• Student population

may skew core unemployment figures

Coordination with Other Plans

• 2006 – Chatham County – Savannah

Tricentennial Plan

• 2006 – Downtown Market Analysis
• 2007 – Downtown Master Plan
• 2007 – East Downtown TAD
• 2008 - 2012 – Housing and Community

Development Plan

• 2009 – HAS Portfolio Analysis
• 2011 –Unified Zoning Ordinance
• Private Developments: Presidential

Square & Savannah River Landing

• Future Land Use Plan
• Wheaton Street Targeted Revitalization

Plan

East Downtown TAD

Deliverables

• Neighborhood Transformation Plan
• Early Start Projects—Initial Implementation
• Establish Lead Agency for Long-Term

Sustainability

• Prepare for Implementation Grant Application

and Seek additional Funding

Role of the Transformation Team’s Steering Committee

• Lead and Coordinate the Development of a

Choice Neighborhoods Transformation Plan

• Ensure Broad Community Outreach and

Participation

• Ensure Partner Commitments are Kept
• Monitor Completion of Milestones to Plan
• Encourage Informed Communication
• Build Strong Community Support

Ways to Participate

• Attend Community Meetings Like this One
• Volunteer for a Task Force
• Help Develop Sections of the Plan
• Inform us About Community Needs
• Let us know about plans, data, studies,

resources, or potential additional partners

Team Organization

Transformation Team Steering Committee Task Forces Housing People- CSS People- Education Neighborhood

Communication Plan

• Resident Training
• Transformation Team and Working Group

Meetings

• Issues forums, workshops and charrettes
• Flyers posted in local access centers
• Press releases
• Social media
• Housing Authority website

• Central Missionary Baptist Church
• Chatham Area Transit
• Chatham County
• Chatham County Safety Net Planning

Council

• CHSA Development, Inc.
• City of Savannah
• Curtis V. Cooper Primary Health Care
• Housing Authority of Savannah
• Metropolitan Planning Commission
• Purpose Built Communities
• Savannah Area Chamber of

Commerce

• The Savannah Bank, N.A.
• Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan

Police Department

• Savannah-Chatham Public School

System

• •Savannah Fire & Emergency Services
• •Savannah State University
• •Savannah Technical College
• •Second Ebenezer Missionary Baptist

Church

• •Step Up Savannah, Inc.
• •Trident Sustainability Group
• •Union Mission, Inc.
• •United Way of the Coastal Empire
• •Youth Futures Authority

Steer ering C g Committee ee

EAS EAST SAVAN ANNAH H GATEW EWAY: Pr Process

Questions and Comments

NEIGHBORHOOD : Social Context

Spending Potential Index

• Very low retail

spending potential in most of central city

• Spending potential

does not increase greatly on other areas

• Greatest spending

potential further east (Whitemarsh Island)