Despite opposition from some public housing residents, the Annapolis City Council passed a resolution Monday that gives the city's housing authority approval to proceed with a plan to redevelop the Obery Court public housing complex.
The project, which would use more than $12 million in state, county and private funding, has drawn criticism from many public housing tenants, several of whom spoke out against the resolution at the City Council meeting before the vote.
The residents feared that after demolition and reconstruction of the rental units, some would not be able to move back, attributing their concerns in part to mistrust of housing authority officials, whom they say did not give them sufficient input in planning the project.
Eric Brown, executive director of the Housing Authority of the City of Annapolis, assured the council that residents will be able to move back into Obery Court as long as they are in "good standing" and have followed the terms of their leases when they leave and return. He also contended that the housing authority has had "extensive discussions with the residents."
"We've tried our very best to keep the residents informed and involved," Brown told the council. "It would be a shame and a travesty to allow this not to pass."
The redevelopment will be a public/private partnership between the housing authority and Pennrose Properties, a Philadelphia-based development company that specializes in affordable housing. Pennrose is to manage the Clay Street neighborhood when the construction is finished.
The first phase of the project is expected to be completed in 14 months - 48 units will be torn down and 50 will be built, said Ivy Carter, who represented Pennrose at the meeting. Carter said the company has done similar projects in Baltimore and Hagerstown.
The new Obery Court neighborhood is to include a community center with a day care center and energy-efficient central air conditioning and heating in the units, along with other amenities, Carter said.
Some aldermen were conflicted by the resolution - although passing it could anger residents and leave them without the option to return to their homes, rejecting the resolution could have meant that investors would pull out of the deal, preventing a badly needed renovation to Annapolis public housing.
"I have been bombarded with telephone calls from residents," said Classie Gillis Hoyle, a Democrat who represents Ward 3.
