Homes at Monterey brings housing to Dixwell

PATRICK MCGARVEY/YH The Housing Authority hopes its new housing development, called the Homes at Monterey, shown here under construction, will revitalize the Dixwell neighborhood.

The Dixwell neighborhood has taken a big step toward renewal. Next month, a newly renovated mixed-income housing development will replace the Elm-Haven public housing complex, the oldest housing project in New Haven. Residents of the neighborhood joined officials from the New Haven Housing Authority for a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Mon., Oct. 25.

A federal Hope VI grant from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) jump-started the development, called the Homes at Monterey. The city Housing Authority received the grant in 1994 to rebuild public housing and to renovate neighborhoods. The housing development, which spans two miles of the city, will have approximately 426 single-family units.

Hope VI Development Director Peter Hance said that Homes at Monterey was part of a plan to "move away from project-based housing towards the goal of mixed-income neighborhoods." He explained that projects had been problematic in the past, and mixed-income neighborhoods would be more beneficial to local residents. The Homes at Monterey have been designed as single-family homes that allow for individually owned and rented units, even though the development is owned and managed by the Massachusetts project developer, Beacon/Corcoran Jenison. The corporation was contracted by the Housing Authority and the City of New Haven, and will receive a subsidy for allocating a certain number of the available units to public housing.

The road toward the creation of the Homes at Monterey has been a long and twisting one. In 1997, the project defaulted, because it was two and half years behind schedule. Also in 1997, HUD threatened to revoke federal aid when an audit revealed that the Livable City Initiative (LCI), a city program designed to improve the quality of life in New Haven, had lost $2.3 million dollars. The misplaced funds were to be distributed through LCI to allocate funds to Community Block Grants and through the New Haven Housing Authority to maintain public housing. The Housing Authority was able to negotiate with HUD, and in 1998 the Authority entered a "default cured" program. The schedule, only three to six months behind at that point, was amended. One of the stipulations in the federal government's decision to end the period of default was that an alternative administrator run the program and report directly to the federal government. The New Haven Housing Authority subsequently lost its independence, but in February 1999, New Haven took over the project, appointing Hance as director of Comprehensive Planning. Hance brought the project up to speed to meet an amended schedule.

The federal audit raised serious questions about New Haven's ability to independently oversee development management. Some excuses for the fund-loss scandal have included inadequate accounting, commingling of funds, ineligible payroll allocating, and approximately $773,342 in administrative overruns. In order to restore respect to his commission, Mayor John DeStefano Jr. replaced the board and appointed Henry Fernandez, LAW '94, as Executive Director. Yet in the eyes of HUD, the New Haven Housing Authority is still problematic enough to consistently receive low scores in annual performance evaluations. With these low scores come the threat that the Authority will come under federal control.

Though the Housing Authority received a score of 33.76 in 1998—a score of 49.5 is needed to retain independence—Executive Director Bob Solomon remains optimistic. He contended that its competency scores will increase when they "reduce vacancy rates, put money in the bank, have a better financial system, and deal with work orders quicker." In addition, Solomon said the scores will increase once its "real estate assessment is incorporated into the scoring system." The New Haven Housing Authority is crucial in the maintenance of public homes. According to Solomon, they receive over 50 calls on a daily basis, which are a combination of routine requests and emergencies. He said the Housing Authority is res-ponsible for keeping the public housing developments clean and safe.

The Homes at Monterey in the Dixwell neighborhood are not the only scattered site housing that will appear in New Haven. Housing developments funded by a new program, Hope VI, are scheduled to appear throughout the city over the next 10 years. New locations include Church Street South, located near Union Station, which is scheduled to undergo renovations in three years. This development will include 110 newly renovated two-family homes; one family will own the home and the second family will rent.

Ward One Alderman Julio Gonzalez, CC '99, expressed approval of the scattered-site housing because it could "reduce pockets of concentrated poverty, and lends itself to better quality housing." While the new developments are "not an answer to all the social dilemmas that working class families face [they are] a step in the right direction."

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