Phenix City to begin Riverview redevelopment project

The Phenix City Housing Authority has taken the first step in the redevelopment of the World War II-era Riverview Court housing complex, Executive Director Mary E. Mayrose said on Monday.

The authority has partnered with a Montgomery, Ala., real estate firm and a Northport, Ala., developer to eliminate about a third of Riverview’s units constructed in the early 1940s. They will be replaced with an 84-unit new low-income housing complex about two miles away at the intersection of 24^th Street and 19^th Avenue.

The new complex, which will be called Hidden Hills Trace, is not far from the Phenix City Intermediate School off South Railroad Street. It is near the old youth baseball fields in an area commonly referred to as Pumpkin Bottom.

The $13.8-million first phase of the project is possible because the Housing Authority has been awarded 9-percent, low-income housing tax credits through the Alabama Housing Finance Authority, which administers the federal program.

Work should start on the new development in nine to 10 months, with residents moving into the units in the summer of 2018, Mayrose said. It will involve the relocation of residents occupying 103 of 104 units on the far west side of the complex, and will impact nearly 300 of Riverview’s more than 1,100 residents, Mayrose said.

Meetings with impacted residents to talk about the relocation plan process will begin in the next week, Mayrose said.

“My No. 1 concern is how we communicate this to the residents and they are clear about what is happening and they have their own rights,” Mayrose said. “It isn’t a matter of Mary Mayrose coming in and saying, ‘Miss Jones, you need to get out of your apartment.’ It doesn’t work that way and it is not going to work that way.”

“What we hope to do is some relocation with those units so they become the last thing we demolish,” Mayrose said.

Many of those who are relocated will have the option to go into the new complex, Mayrose said. Some residents will be eligible for Section 8 housing vouchers, while others could be relocated to one of the five Housing Authority developments and 925 units, including Riverview, Mayrose said.

The second phase, which has no timetable right now, will be to redevelop the area that the residents will be vacating.

Over the next five years, the plan is to take down all of the Riverview units and redevelop the property for mixed use, Mayrose said.

“Our intention is that as we move forward that value will only increase,” Mayrose said.

Asked if the authority plans to sell the land to private developers, Mayrose said that was one of several options.

“This is very expensive work and we could get to the point where someone makes an offer on our property that will allow us to move forward with our plans,” Mayrose said. “At that point, our board will have to take that under consideration.”

The Housing Authority’s Riverview redevelopment plans come as significant public and private investment has been made along the Phenix City riverfront to the south. Troy University opened a $10.8 million campus next door to Riverview with plans to expand it. A new Courtyard Marriott has opened next to the 14^th Street pedestrian bridge.

David White, vice chancellor of Troy's Phenix City campus, called the decision to move from the western end of the property to the river a smart strategy.

“The rational as you move toward the river and begin to see the new area grow, it will elevate the value of the property as you get closer to the river,” White said.

Mayor Eddie Lowe said the plans show the progressive side of the city.

“I think the key point is we need to get started with this,” Lowe said. “And in doing that, we have to trust the people in charge and we have to trust their guidance and expertise.”

Mayrose compared what could happen to the Riverview property with two Housing Authority of Columbus developments where outdated public housing was torn down and replaced with new communities.

“That is ultimately where we are going,” Mayrose said. “We are trying to build back a mixed-income, walkable lovely community just like they have been able to do at Arbor Pointe and Ashley Station.”

After reviewing potential partners, Hollyhand Development and LEDIC Realty Company were selected late last year and worked with the Housing Authority to put together the tax credit application.

“Hollyhand has done a ton of work with the Tuscaloosa Housing Authority,” Mayrose said. “I think the last nine applications, they were successful with seven of them in getting tax credits for the Tuscaloosa Housing Authority. They are experienced in working with public housing authorities.”

This story was originally published June 13, 2016 at 4:02 PM with the headline "Phenix City to begin Riverview redevelopment project."