Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere (HOPE VI) program

Nashville Civic Design Center Case Study: HOPE VI Foundation In 1992, Congress reformed public housing policy with their enactment of the Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere (HOPE VI) program. Funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the HOPE VI program builds “Attractive mixed-income developments and revitalized neighborhoods” in American cities where ”distressed public housing once stood.”1 The HOPE VI program endeavors to convert the “nation’s worst public housing projects into the foundations of healthy neighborhoods, providing quality affordable housing while attracting new market activities and radically changing the urban landscape.”1 The program is based on the principles of New Urbanism--which is founded on the theory that people thrive when “living in houses that face the street, on traditional-sized blocks defined by a grid of public thoroughfares, at a comparable density to the area”2 --and defensible space which aims to create sustainable communities where residents have greater control over their space. “Well-designed and constructed housing is expected to discourage vandalism”3 and empower residents to take ownership over the safety and condition of their neighborhood.

• “Diversity: A broad range of housing types and prices will bring people of diverse ages, races and incomes into daily interaction, strengthening the personal and civic bonds essential to an authentic community • Safety and Civic Engagement: The relationship of buildings and streets should enable neighbors to create a safe neighborhood by providing” eyes on the street” and should encourage interaction and community identity • Neighborhoods: Neighborhoods should be compact, with shops, schools, parks and other activities of daily life available within walking distance • Local Architectural Character: The image and character of new development should respond to the best architectural traditions in the area • Streets and Public Open Space: Neighborhoods should have an interconnected network of streets and public open spaces to provide opportunities for recreation and appropriate settings for civic activities”5 • “Lessen isolation and reduce the concentration of very lowincome families; build mixed-income communities

Guidelines In order to apply for HOPE VI housing in Nashville, applicants must have good credit, no police record and a job (or be enrolled in employment training). All new homeowners are offered assistance by the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency (MDHA) and taught how to maintain their homes.

MDHA also helps HOPE VI residents construct an “individual development plan, which includes their personal goals.”4

1 Turbov, M. and

The following principles were established as design guidelines for HOPE VI communities:

• Revitalize the sites of severely distressed public housing and, as a result, improve the surrounding neighborhood • Provide coordinated, comprehensive community and supportive services that help residents to achieve self-sufficiency, young people to attain educational excellence, and the community to secure a desirable quality of life”5

Piper,V. (2005). HOPE VI and mixed-finance redevelopments: A catalyst for neighborhood renewal. Washington, DC: The Brookings Institu-

tion.

2

Kreyling, C. (1999, September 20). Nashville tries different type of public housing. The Nashville Scene. Retrieved from http://weeklywire.com/ww/09-20-99/nash_cl-closer_look.html 3

Popkin, S., Katz, B., Cunningham, M., Brown, K., Gustafson, J. and Turner, M. (2004). A decade of HOPE VI: Research findings and policy challenges. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute.

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Nashville makes good use of HOPE VI grants to expand housing. (2005, January 3). The City Paper. Retrieved from http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/content/city-news/nashville-makes-good-use-hope-vi-grants-expand-housing 5 Seattle

Housing Authority. (2008). Hope VI program. Retrieved from http://www.seattlehousing.org/Development/hopevi/hopevi.html

Nashville Civic Design Center • Urban Design / Policy Brief • HOPE VI • www.civicdesigncenter.org

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Criticism and Praise The HOPE VI program has been criticized for not replacing housing units on a one-for-one basis and displacing former public housing residents. An additional criticism of the HOPE VI program is that it gentrifies the site, administering housing to more affluent residents rather than the poor.6 Despite the criticism, “Early evidence points to the fact that HOPE VI grants have great potential to remake distressed public housing, jump start wholesale neighborhood improvements, and help attract new investment into places where the market was previously absent.”1 “Major studies in 2004 and 2003 concluded that in HOPE VI projects per capita income is up, unemployment is down, the percentage of families on welfare is down, and crime is down (violent crime dropped a whopping 68 percent). The problems are not simply being pushed to outlying neighborhoods, either.

A study of census tracts surrounding HOPE VI projects showed substantial improvements in adjacent neighborhoods.”7

The Ten Principles are guidelines for public policy, development practice, urban planning and design that arose out of a community-based planning process for a re-visioned Nashville.

The MDHA addressed the following principles in its development of the John Henry Hale neighborhood: • Reestablish the streets as the principal public space of community and connectivity Goals are: -

Physical connections among the neighborhoods and downtown by means of a rational network of streets and avenues Design standards for streets that ensure a high level of quality--physical and aesthetic--for the pedestrian

• Raise the quality of the public realm with civic structures and spaces Goals are: -

Amended Hope VI

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In January of 2008, the U.S. House of Representatives reauthorized the HOPE VI program for eight years, with the provision that all new developments be built to satisfy the Green Communities Criteria Checklist and replace dilapidated public housing on a one-to-one ratio. The House designated an annual budget of $800 million for future HOPE VI projects.8

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Civic buildings and spaces that reinforce a sense of civic pride Locations that are significant sites in complementary relationships Connections to the city network by means of vistas, streets and greenways Civic buildings and spaces that set high standards for the design of the city at large

• I nfuse visual order into the city by strengthening

sightlines to and from civic landmarks and natural features

History and Future of HOPE VI in Nashville Thus far, Nashville has received $88.5 million in HUD funds for the redevelopment of four neighborhoods with distressed public housing: 1) Vine Hill in South Nashville, 2) Preston Taylor in West Nashville, 3) Sam Levy in East Nashville, and 4) John Henry Hale in North Nashville.

Goals are: -

View corridors to and from significant landmarks, especially the State Capitol View corridors and vistas of all types, from small and intimate to sweeping and grand

Given the numerous public housing developments in Nashville still burdened by distressed conditions, the MDHA is reportedly interested in increasing the city’s stock of HOPE VI housing. “We think a beautiful mixed-income neighborhood is a net gain for low-income people versus an overly dense, traditional 60-year-old housing development. I think it’s been a very successful program in Nashville,”8 said Phil Ryan, executive director of the MDHA. The MDHA collaborated with the Nashville Civic Design Center on the design of the new John Henry Hale development, utilizing the design proposed in The Plan of Nashville. This was the first project in the city to utilize the Ten Principles outlined in The Plan.

6

Davis, M. (2005, October 25). Gentrifying disaster. ZNet. Retrieved from http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/5142

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Steuteville, R. (2005, March). HOPE VI is dead; Long live HOPE VI. New Urban News. Retrieved from http://www.newurbannews.com/ CommentaryMar05.html 8

House breathes new life into HOPE VI program. (2008, January 24). The City Paper. Retrieved from http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/content/ city-news/house-breathes-new-life-hope-vi-program Nashville Civic Design Center • Urban Design / Policy Brief • HOPE VI • www.civicdesigncenter.org

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Vine Hill

Preston Taylor

Location:

South Nashville

Location:

West Nashville

History:

Originally constructed in 1940s as temporary housing for defense workers

History:

Originally constructed in 1954

Owner:

Vine Hill Homes, LLC

Owner:

Preston Taylor Homes, LLC

Architect:

Gobbell Hays Partners and Sherman Carter Barnhart

Architect:

Barge Waggoner Sumner & Cannon and Tise Hurwitz & Diamond

HUD Grant:

$13.6 million

HUD Grant:

$35 million

Total Cost:

$31,947,060

Total Cost:

$87,159,725

Demolished:

280 units

Demolished:

550 units

Acres:

35

Acres:

52

Built:

152 rental units (16 of which are market-rate)

Built:

Completed:

2001

310 rental units & 40 single-family homes on site, 30 rental units & 60 single-family homes on vacant lots in surrounding neighborhood and 60 unit assisted living facility

Completed:

2003

The new Vine Hill development Photos Courtesy of Metropolitan Development & Housing Agency

The new Preston Taylor development Photo Credit: Metropolitan Development & Housing Agency

The new Vine Hill development Photo Courtesy of Sherman Carter Barnhart

Nashville Civic Design Center • Urban Design / Policy Brief • HOPE VI • www.civicdesigncenter.org

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Homes and the spaghetti junction Photo Credit: Metro Planning Department

Sam Levy Location:

East Nashville

History:

Originally constructed in 1953

Owner:

Metropolitan Development & Housing Agency

Architect:

The Larkin Group, Barge Waggoner Sumner & Cannon, and Tise Hurwitz & Diamond

HUD Grant:

$20 million

Total Cost:

$33,732,285

Demolished:

480 units

Built:

226 units and 39 homeownership units

Completed:

2007 Demolition of Sam Levy Homes Photo Credit: Shelley Mays/The Tennessean

Sam Levy Homes before demolition Photo Credit: Shelley Mays/The Tennessean

From The Plan of Nashville --Aerial view of the former Sam Levy

The new Sam Levy neighborhood Photo Credit: Metropolitan Development & Housing Agency

Residents play outside their home in the new Sam Levy neighborhood Photo Credit: Shelley Mays/The Tennessean

Nashville Civic Design Center • Urban Design / Policy Brief • HOPE VI • www.civicdesigncenter.org

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John Henry Hale Location:

North Nashville

History:

Originally constructed in 1951

Owner:

Metropolitan Development & Housing Agency

Architect:

Barge Waggoner Sumner & Cannon and Tise Hurwitz & Diamond

HUD Grant:

$20 million

Total Cost:

$58,374,349

Demolished:

498 units

Acres:

32.4

Built:

228 townhouse and duplex units and 41 single-family homes off site

Completed:

2008

From The Plan of Nashville--Proposed plan for the redevelopment of the site of John Henry Hale Homes, which honors the Capitol Axes plan by placing a large civic lawn along the western axis of the Capitol, while reserving a space for a future civic building that will terminate the axis Drawing: Metro Planning Department, Lee Jones

Aerial view of the former Henry Hale Housing Project Photo Credit: Metro Planning Department

The new John Henry Hale development

Demolition of John Henry Hale Homes

Nashville Civic Design Center • Urban Design / Policy Brief • HOPE VI • www.civicdesigncenter.org

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The new John Henry Hale development Photo Credit: Metropolitan Development & Housing Agency

The new John Henry Hale development Photo Credit: Thornton & Associates Inc.

Nashville Civic Design Center • Urban Design / Policy Brief • HOPE VI • www.civicdesigncenter.org

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