More steps toward ‘workforce’ housing project in Oak Ridge
Oak Ridge Director of Planning and Development Wayne Blasius talks to Oak Ridge Housing Authority Executive Director Maria Catron before an Oak Ridge City Council (photo:Ben Pounds )
“I think it could be a model for us to do other projects, so I’m very supportive of it, and I have every confidence that it will move forward and be built,” Mayor Warren Gooch said in an interview after the meeting.
The city sold about nine acres between South Dillard Avenue, South Benedict Avenue, Carver Avenue and Wilberforce Avenue for $100.
A memo included in the City Council agenda stated ORHA will develop 100 to 150 housing units on the transferred property.
Gooch made the motion. Council member Charles Hensley and Mayor Pro Tem James Dodson seconded. The Oak Ridge Housing Authority manages public housing and housing assistance in the city.
The City Council appoints the members, but its programs are often tied to the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Some units will be for rent, while others will be to own. The city memo listed them as “affordable” and aimed at the “workforce” of Oak Ridge, but Maria Catron, executive director of the Housing Authority, said she did not know the price range.
She said the Housing Authority also doesn’t know its source of funding yet, but it will be a public-private partnership and involve development partner Collaborative Housing Solutions, a consulting firm from Georgia that works with housing authorities.
Projects in Scarboro may go beyond just the new housing.
“ORHA is looking at revitalization efforts for the entire Scarboro community,” Catron said. “Community discussion is underway to identify areas of need, which could include homeowner rehab, new construction for homeownership, and downpayment assistance.”
Catron encouraged people to reach out to her by email at mcatron@orha.net or at the ORHA office at 10 Van Hicks Road in Oak Ridge if they wish to learn more or have comments.