Officials Vote to Rebuild The Courts

By Charles Levin
Ventura County Star
Last updated: October 24th, 2005
www.venturacountystar.com

Oxnard officials hope to recast the image of the city's hardscrabble Colonia neighborhood after giving a tentative approval this week to raze and rebuild its 260 rundown public housing units known as The Courts.

The plan also calls for building an additional 80 low-income rental units, 100 single-family homes and 65 townhomes.

Last week, the Oxnard City Council, acting as the city's Housing Authority, unanimously approved development agreements with Newport Beach-based developers Steadfast Cos. and Fieldstone Communities and Homes Inc.

Costs to demolish and rebuild the 260 rentals would run about $59 million, but the agreements are contingent on first securing funding and other federal approvals, Sal Gonzalez, director of the city's Housing Authority, said this week.

Getting the authority's approval, however, was necessary to secure federal permission to demolish and rebuild the 260 rentals, Gonzalez said.

"We're changing the face of public housing," a buoyant Gonzalez said before Tuesday's vote to consider the plan.

The Courts, built in the early 1950s as one of Oxnard's first public housing projects, is on roughly 29 acres east of Marquita Street and north of First Street. At the time, it was considered state of the art in public housing, Gonzalez said.

The Housing Authority rents the apartments to low-income tenants, who are screened for eligibility based on income requirements and the absence of a criminal record.

Over time, however, the apartments have deteriorated, Gonzalez said. The light concrete walls have dried and now crumble easily. The structures are not seismically sound. And drainage problems have beset many units with mold and mildew.

The initial construction used lead-based paint and asbestos. The homes line five U-shaped streets, and cars must enter and exit from First Street. This burdens First Street with too much traffic and thwarts public safety responses.

Final design plans are still not settled. But a new road would bisect the area, allowing more traffic options.

While waiting for federal approvals, the city must also establish a nonprofit corporation to secure the necessary funding, including bonds, federal Section 8 dollars and cash from private investors who get tax credits in return for putting up money. The nonprofit agency would manage and maintain the 260 units.

Two-story buildings would replace the single-story duplexes, freeing up half the parcel. The increased density wasn't an easy sell with tenants, who relish The Courts' large front and backyards, Gonzalez said.

But the current layout is "not what we call the highest and best use of the land," Gonzalez said.

During the construction, about 45 families may be displaced but plans have not been finalized.

Building on half the parcel, however, would give tenants more amenities, such as a new community center, while the city gets additional land for more housing, Gonzalez said.

Steadfast would build, own and manage the 80 rental units for low-income tenants on a 3.25 acre parcel owned by the city's Housing Authority. The Housing Authority, in turn, would get 20 percent of rental revenues and 20 percent of any dollars if the project is sold later.

Steadfast would pay the Housing Authority $3 million for another 3.2-acre parcel for the 65 townhomes. Thirteen of those units would be sold as affordable housing.

Fieldstone would pay $10 million for another 8.5 acres of Housing Authority land to build the 100 single-family homes. Ten would be sold as affordable housing. The remainder of the 2000-plus-square-foot homes would probably sell for more than $500,000, said Sarah Metherell, Steadfast's vice president.

"I'm excited because it's an opportunity to do a beautiful mixed-use project with all income levels," Metherell said.

The Colonia Villages Tenants Association supports the plan because it means improved living quarters over the current rundown units, said 17-year resident Fernando Ramos, a tow-truck driver and the association's president.

Ignacio Cervantes, who said he represented another group of tenants, criticized the plan on Tuesday, saying the Housing Authority hasn't provided enough information.

Gonzalez said the city recognizes the Colonia Villages association, which is required under federal housing guidelines. "But that is not at the total exclusion of Mr. Cervantes," Gonzalez said Friday. "He has a right to speak his mind and be heard. He hasn't been ignored."

Councilman Andres Herrera, who grew up in Colonia and lived at The Courts, bristled over criticisms of the plan.

"I think this is a great project," Herrera said.

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