Plan outlines landscaping, facade improvements at Willow Heights in Fayetteville

NWA Democrat-Gazette/ANDY SHUPE Buildings at Willow Heights stand Thursday in Fayetteville. The University of Arkansas' Community Design Center has been working on a livability improvement plan for the public housing complex, which includes landscaping designs and facade improvement.
NWA Democrat-Gazette/ANDY SHUPE Buildings at Willow Heights stand Thursday in Fayetteville. The University of Arkansas' Community Design Center has been working on a livability improvement plan for the public housing complex, which includes landscaping designs and facade improvement.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Improving the landscape with open spaces interacting more fluidly with the buildings would alleviate flooding and livability issues at a public housing complex, but cost estimates would come later, according to a presentation the Housing Authority board saw Thursday.

Steve Luoni, with the University of Arkansas' Community Design Center, showed commissioners the feasibility of making a number of outdoor improvements and building new units at Willow Heights, 10 S. Willow Ave. The Housing Authority owns the 40-unit hillside complex.

Luoni presented three design scenarios for building orientation, landscaping, parking and other features. Each would mix market-value units with public housing. Two scenarios would require cutting into the hillside, with one being the least involving.

The point of the presentation was to show improving the Willow Heights site is possible, Luoni said. A final report should be ready next month, with models on display at the Fayetteville Public Library, he said.

Next meeting

When: 6 p.m. June 28

Where: Room 111, City Hall, 113 W. Mountain St.

photo

NWA Democrat-Gazette/ANDY SHUPE Buildings at Willow Heights stand Thursday in Fayetteville. The University of Arkansas' Community Design Center has been working on a livability improvement plan for the public housing complex, which includes landscaping designs and facade improvement.

Getting into the architecture and engineering stage would more clearly outline costs associated with any of the design scenarios, but Luoni put the project in the $8 million to $10 million range.

Questions immediately came up regarding where the money would come from. Grants from nonprofit groups could help with water runoff improvement, Luoni said, but millions would still be left to go.

The Housing Authority has a contract with a private developer to sell the Willow Heights property for $1.25 million. Residents there would move to new units at Morgan Manor, 324 E. 12th Place, which the authority operates. Morgan Manor is under a form of Section 8 called the Rental Assistance Demonstration program, which combines public and private equity to subsidize the rent for low-income residents.

A tax credit the Housing Authority applied for but didn't receive last year would cover a significant chunk of the expense to build the new units at Morgan Manor. The authority intends to re-apply for the credit.

Commissioner Melissa Terry said renovating the units at Willow Heights and improving the landscape could result in a better score on the tax credit application than the Morgan Manor plan. Terry led a public effort against expanding Morgan Manor last year before being appointed to the board by the City Council.

Commissioner Chris White said the board has already invested thousands into the design plan for Morgan Manor, which has gained city approval. A plan to improve Willow Heights could be years out, and low-income residents are feeling a housing pinch now, he said.

Executive Director Deniece Smiley said Luoni's plan looked nice, but without addressing the interior needs of the units, leaves too many unknowns. A plan has to be turned in to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development by July, per federal rules, she said.

Chairman Mike Emery asked Luoni to meet with the authority's Rental Assistance Demonstration program consultants before the board's next meeting to hash out further details on the Willow Heights plan. That way the board would have the information in front of them in time for its next meeting, he said.

The consultants also will be present at the Housing Authority board's June meeting.

In other business, the board gave Smiley permission to send a letter to HUD to pause the process to convert Willow Heights and another public housing complex, Lewis Plaza, 401 S. Lewis Ave., to the RAD program. A line in the letter referring to neighbors not wanting the Morgan Manor expansion in their backyards was removed, sparking lively debate among board commissioners and members of the public present at the meeting.

NW News on 05/25/2018

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