Drive throughout Bradford, and one notices fairly quickly which homes are public housing. Local officials want to change that.
If all goes according to plan, housing units for elderly, disabled and low-income residents would be spread out throughout the city in hopes of blending the homes into the community.
At a Bradford City Council workshop meeting Tuesday, McKean County Housing Authority officials spoke about plans through the Rental Assistance Demonstration that allow for the preservation and improvement of public housing properties, acting authority director Tammy Emerson said.
The proposal targets 200 units in the city — 128 at 2 Bushnell St., 50 at South Center Street and 22 at Brookline Court.
“The units in the city are in disrepair, yet there is a high demand for units in the city and surrounding municipalities,” Emerson said. “The housing authority is not able to address the current rehab needs of these 200 units in the city with our current capital fund grant allocation, which is $200,000 a year for these properties.”
For example, the High Rise would be reduced from 128 to 95 one-bedroom units and would be designated for elderly and disabled. A high-rise building is not constructed for those who live on lower income, Emerson said.
For South Center Street, there would be 30 units, and 20 would be eliminated.
“The 22 units at Brookline Court would be demolished and rebuilt — some onsite, others at alternative locations,” she said.
Plans call for12 new units with two- and three-bedrooms to be constructed, Emerson said.
The authority is also eying properties at 10 and 13 Howard St., 15-17 Howard St., 19 Howard St., 21-23 Howard St., 22-24 Howard St., 38 State St. and 44-48 State St.
The authority is also looking to get a letter of intent for the transfer of the properties at their assessed value. No action was taken at the meeting.
Those sites would be transformed into 10 one-bedroom, 16 two-bedroom and two- to three-bedroom units. All told, at 44-48 State St., the Housing Authority plans to turn the properties into housing for the elderly, with 10 one-bedroom and 10 two-bedroom units.
Emerson said that some housing units would also include patios and balconies.
City Councilman Brad Mangel asked how the overall view of public housing in neighborhoods would be combatted under the proposal.
“We want to make so they blend in with the current population,” Emerson said. “They’re going to look like homes, like typical duplexes.”
Emerson also shared the proposed costs and financial plan: The High Rise project would total $1.9 million and South Center and Brookline Court, $11.4 million.
“It’s going to be a significant project that won’t happen overnight, for sure,” she said.
