Pubdate: Sun, 30 Nov 2003 Source: Daily Times, The (TN) Copyright: 2003 Horvitz Newspapers Contact: http://www.thedailytimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1455 Author: Thomas Fraser, of The Daily Times Staff A Neighborhood Rebounds: HALL COMMUNITY TRIES TO OVERCOME DRUG PAST Debra Watts has seen it get bad, but now it's getting better. "This used to be a rough area," Watts said recently on a cloudy fall day while standing on the porch of her home across from Howe Street Park. "There were a lot of drug dealers standing around and selling drugs," Watts said, when she moved into her home in 1996. "There was a lot of shooting, guys fighting. It scared a lot of people." But death and prison have thinned the ranks of neighborhood thugs since 1996, she said, and "it's gotten a whole lot better. "There's a little stuff still going on, but nothing major." One can't help but wonder the role Habitat for Humanity has played in the resurrection of the neighborhood, which some law enforcement officials say is still the center of the street-level drug trade in Blount County. But it's not as noticeable, at least in the eyes of Watts, who watches the park and the neighborhood from her Habitat home. She lives there with her daughter, a son and a grandson. Without Habitat's help, she said, she'd still be living in an apartment. "All my life, I'd always rented," she said. "It's a good organization. A real good organization." "They help people that would probably never be able to own their own homes." 'A Great Location' Blount County Habitat for Humanity Director Kay Bowers believes strongly in the mission of her organization. "South Hall is a great location for people to live," Bowers said while on a tour this summer of the neighborhood. Large shade trees -- likely survivors of some 300 such trees planted by ALCOA in the 1920s -- line most streets; parks are readily accessible; and the uniquely urban nature of the neighborhood is conducive to community. "It could be attractive to all spheres of income," Bowers said. "Here is a community with smaller, older homes. The demographic has changed to such that it appears you have a number of single-parent families, a number of elderly homeowners and low-income younger families," she said. Efforts to establish a decent, affordable housing stock in the 13 Streets area has so far met with mixed results. Habitat was building its seventh house in the South Hall community this summer. Two are on the east side of Hall Road, five are on the west side. Of those five, the first three were built at the end of West Howe Street, "where the majority of drugs, loitering and safety problems exist," Bowers said. Three of the houses were sold to households headed by single females. Two of those homes were foreclosed on. The Watts household remains current on its mortgage. One house has been sold to another family with a Habitat mortgage, and the other house, next door to Watts, was renovated last year and sold to a resident through a traditional lender. One lesson was learned from the foreclosures, and it's an issue with which Habitat still grapples: "If you have low-income, single-parent mothers who are already struggling in life, you shouldn't be putting them in areas that are going to cause even more burdens than they already have," Bowers said. Habitat plugs on, however. "We believe that community can be revitalized. We believe there are residents there who are working to take back the neighborhood." Healthy Mix The formation of the Foothills Community Development Corp. (FDC) will give Habitat and the city even more leverage for positive change. "We hope to create a healthier mix, get away from economically segregated communities," Bowers said. Habitat is not allowed to use government funds to build houses. A community development corporation, on the other hand, can apply for and use government funds to build, reconstruct or rehabilitate homes. The corporation can also partner with other lenders who may offer low-interest loans. The FDC has so far received $238,000 to rehabilitate and reconstruct four homes in the city. It has "informal" options on nine properties in the community, the majority of which are on Howe Street. "Because of a lack of safety and crime problems, (the FDC) will probably not do our first project on that street," Bowers said. "We're going to wait until we see some change. It would be hard to sell to people the way it is." Qualified buyers recruited by the program "have a choice in where the house will be built." Regardless of location, the FDC is expected to get in full swing next year, "and if the project is successful, we will be able to apply for more grant funds," Bowers said. But the FDC will be more than a pass-through entity for federal housing funds. It is "trying to be a facilitator to bring information, tools, ideas and folks together," she said. That's just the beginning, Bowers acknowledges. "Clearly, if you're going to do something like this, codes enforcement is essential." The South Hall Community, she said, could be a rarity in modern America: a healthy working-class neighborhood for which the city could claim "bragging rights." Taking Good Care Alcoa Director of Planning Chris Hamby was pleasantly surprised by drives through the South Hall neighborhood this fall. Hamby, in the company of Assistant Planner Jeremy Pearson, recorded the number of deteriorating and dilapidated homes in the 13 Streets area. According to the 2000 Census, about 14 percent of the homes in the area are vacant, compared to 9 percent citywide. Hamby didn't just survey the vacant houses, though. "I was quite surprised, really," she said. Of 464 primarily inhabited units surveyed in the 13 Streets area, only 5.1 percent qualified as deteriorating or substandard. Less than 1 percent of the homes were classified as "dilapidated," or verging on condemnation. "It looked pretty doggone good, actually," she said. "There's an enclave of people in there really taking good care of their homes." Several houses ranked standard left some cosmetic work to be desired, and there are still some widespread "maintenance issues," Hamby said, but she chalked that up to a fairly high percentage of renters. In the South Hall community, about 32 percent of homes are renter-occupied. That's on par with the city rental rate of 32 percent, which Hamby said "is kind of up there." It's just that fact that prevents the city from offering more home improvement assistance to low-income inhabitants of the 13 Streets and elsewhere. Most federal home improvement grant programs, such as the HOME grant program offered by the city for the first time this year, are only offered for improvement to homes that are owner-occupied. "A good portion of the people in need are living in rental property," Hamby said. Even if the home has been in the family for generations, sometimes inhabitants have never gotten a deed or clear title, which also disqualifies them from assistance. The city this year received HOME grants totaling $165,617 from the Tennessee Housing Development Authority for four projects. Two are complete demolitions and rebuilds, and two are rehabilitation projects. The projects -- on Watt, Edison, Bell and Newcomen streets - -- are being overseen by Barge Waggoner Sumner and Cannon of Knoxville. Hamby said the city will see how this initial investment proceeds and will likely seek more such funding in the future. 'A Big Push' So what of the codes enforcement Bowers says is needed? Hamby said the city has been "rigorously enforcing (codes) the last two to three years," and now has two full-time inspectors and codes enforcement officers. Junked and abandoned cars, for one, have been "hit hard and heavy" recently, she said. And that's a positive step. Alcoa City Commissioner George Williams said he and 13 Streets resident Jackie Hill have personally counted 250 junk cars in the area of 13 Streets. While the city does not keep records of code violations by neighborhood, Alcoa Codes Enforcement Officer Gary Holloway said the city has removed 300 abandoned cars over the past three years, "and there is a big push for that" in the 13 Streets area. The city will tow abandoned cars from private property at no charge, he said. There has also been an increase in the number of citations for overgrown lots, he said. Hamby said state law often prevents the timely remedy of codes violations residents of the area would like to see. She said the city is working with its attorney to streamline the process of codes enforcement, which, she admits, "can be a laborious project." The city has also used its condemnation powers to remove blighted property from the neighborhood. Last fiscal year, six houses in the Hall and Oldfield communities were condemned. One was rehabilitated, and five were torn down following condemnation, said city codes Enforcement Officer Roger Post. No condemnation proceedings have yet begun this fiscal year, though the city has its eye on "a couple problem houses," he said. "People have made us some good promises." Nothing Beyond Repair The 13 Streets also has a little help from the private sector, in the form of people like Juluse Jarrett. Jarrett buys substandard housing, repairs it with a construction loan, and offers the improved properties for resale, at little or no profit, to those in need of affordable housing. "Some houses are better than others," he said this fall while working on a home on Edison Street. "But if the structure's sound, you can work on it." Jarrett also offers renovation services to the economically disadvantaged. In this particular case on Edison Street, he was renovating a home that had been damaged by fire. The owner of the home couldn't afford the repairs in the immediate absence of insurance money, so he fronted the labor and materials. It's an ambitious project -- the entire interior was gutted, and the structure -- originally built for ALCOA employees -- needed complete rewiring and new plumbing. Some of the materials were donated, or purchased by others, such as the windows provided by the Rev. Stone Carr, a former Alcoa city commissioner and community activist. Jarrett, a 60-year-old ALCOA retiree and Vietnam veteran, has rehabilitated and made available for purchase -- on a first-come, first-served basis -- eight houses in Alcoa, two in Maryville and one in Knoxville. "I like taking something and making it look good," he said, adding that others are taking the same initiative. "It's looking better," he said of the 13 Streets. "A lot of times people just can't afford to maintain their houses. "I haven't seen too many beyond repair, but what some people call beyond repair, I don't," he said. So what is Jarrett's motivation? "I went through Vietnam," he said, and had brain surgery in 1986. He had a heart attack in 1996. Still he goes strong. "I feel like I've had three leases on life," he said. "I just want to give something back." - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake