Meeting set for Feb. 8 on proposed Scarboro housing in Oak Ridge
People may voice their thoughts on plans for a housing development in Oak Ridge’s historic Scarboro neighborhood beginning at 4 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 8.
Oak Ridge Housing Authority, a public housing agency with a board appointed by the city, is working on the project and has promoted it as “quality, affordable workforce housing.”
The meeting will be at the Scarboro Community Center at 148 Carver Ave.
People can view the design and ask questions from 4 5 p.m. At 5:30 p.m., the architect and members of the project team will give a presentation. After that, people can ask questions and get answers from the presenters. Oak Ridge City Council member Derrick Hammond said the authority has held similar meetings since last March.
If it goes ahead, the project will be on about nine acres of currently vacant land ORHA purchased from the city of Oak Ridge between South Dillard, South Benedict, Carver and Wilberforce avenues, behind the Scarboro Community Center and across the street from Oak Ridge Schools’ Scarboro Preschool.
A memo in a City Council agenda stated that ORHA will develop 100 to 150 residential units on the transferred property. Hammond said none of the buildings will be above two stories.
ORHA has a specific definition of “affordable.” Maria Catron, the executive director, said it means a household pays no more than 30% of its gross income toward housing and utility costs.
Within Oak Ridge, she said, the people who need affordable housing earn less than 60% of the median area income for their household size.
For a household of one, that 60% limit would be $36,300, while for a household of six, it would be $60,180. Catron listed public school teachers at $49,000 per year, hairstylists at $38,605 per year, restaurant servers at $30,785 per year, grocery store cashiers at $30,035 per year, daycare workers at $29,100 per year and coffee baristas at $28,790 per year as people who could be under the 60% limit depending on household size.
Catron defined affordable rent as that at or below $972 per month for a one-bedroom apartment, $1,167 per month for a two-bedroom apartment and $1,348 per month for a three-bedroom apartment. She said an affordable home sales price would be at or below the low- to mid-$200,000s.
Two speakers at the Oak Ridge City Council’s Jan. 8 meeting criticized what they described as a lack of engagement with neighborhood residents and landowners.
“I have come before you to express concerns and fears of my elderly and youth residents of Scarboro who have cried on the phone and at my car asking me ‘Is my home at risk of being seized? Is our community at risk of being erased?’” said Ebony Capshaw, a resident of the Scarboro community and a candidate for Anderson County Commission District Six.
She said historically the African-American Community in Oak Ridge moved around the city before reaching Scarboro.
“It’s all we got,” she said. “Our little piece of heaven. That’s why I’m here. I’m Scarboro proud and Scarboro strong. The fear of losing our homes is great, and I’ve had nothing but chest pains wondering if this new development in the middle of my neighborhood will open the door wider to gentrify, erase our presence and lead to property acquisition.”
She said home values in Scarboro had “skyrocketed,” but often with no improvements. She proposed a community land trust “to build community wealth” and ensure homes stay affordable.
Another Oak Ridge citizen, Octavia Chisholm, who lives near the property, said the city had provided notice only two days in advance for a Jan. 4 meeting.
Hammond said Catron had proposed pushing the date back, but that he had proposed having the February meeting for people who missed the January one.
He said people had knocked on every door and given postcards to everyone who lived adjacent to the proposed development.
“You don’t have to come to a meeting for us to come to you,” Hammond said. “My door’s wide open.
“I respect you ladies for what you do,” he said. “I respect you for coming up here. But we can do this together and get much further than trying to do this apart.”