GALVESTON — The Galveston Housing Authority will demolish two public housing developments and renovate two others, board members decided Wednesday.
Board members agreed to tear down Oleander Homes, 5228 Broadway, and Palm Terrace, 4400 Sealy St., but it’s not yet clear what kind of housing will replace those developments. It will take at least two years to replace that public housing, said Harish Krishnarao, executive director.
The board also agreed to renovate hurricane-damaged apartments at Cedar Terrace, 2914 Ball St., and Magnolia Homes, 1601 The Strand, in an effort to bring displaced public housing residents home as quickly as possible, Krishnarao said.
All four public housing developments have been closed since Hurricane Ike hit Sept. 13.
Renovations have started at Cedar Terrace and Magnolia Homes as crews have removed moldy drywall and insulation. The units might be available for lease in November, and possibly as early as July, Krishnarao said.
He is still awaiting results of an environmental study to determine whether the buildings are safe for residents. The authority must assess damage to electrical and gas lines, which have been shut off since Ike struck.
Krishnarao did not have information on how much the demolition and rehabilitation would cost. He plans to use housing authority maintenance workers and hired contractors to renovate Cedar Terrace and Magnolia Homes.
Once new public housing is erected at the Oleander Homes and Palm Terrace sites, the housing authority will consider moving residents there and replacing Cedar Terrace and Magnolia Homes.
The decision was a compromise between those who wanted to replace all four hurricane-damaged public housing developments and those who wanted to renovate the existing units to move the 584 displaced families home quickly.
Some public housing tenants have had trouble finding places to live.
Agnes Groom, who lived in Magnolia Homes with her four children before the hurricane, said she has spent the past five months looking for places to live. She said she has looked in Texas City, La Marque and Galveston, but has not found anyone who would accept her federal disaster housing assistance program voucher. She has been turned away by several landlords who said her income was too low, she said. She’s not sure where she will live once the Federal Emergency Management Agency stops paying for her to live in a hotel.
“I’m scared to death,” she said.
Of the 7,000 Galveston County families who qualify for the Disaster Housing Assistance Program, only 1,800 or 26 percent, have found places to live, Krishnarao said.
Though Krishnarao said he had planned to poll public housing tenants before the board made a decision about the future of the developments, several residents said they weren’t called. Krishnarao said some residents, but not all, been contacted.
Sadie Lundy, a former resident of Magnolia Homes, said she would love to return to her home soon. Lundy, who needs special accommodations, has faced difficulties finding a handicap-accessible apartment with her disaster housing voucher. Lundy has lived in a relative’s house in La Marque along with 26 other people and in six different hotels in the past five months.
“I miss my quiet and nice neighborhood,” she said.
