Two hundred Crystal Towers residents will face prolonged uncertainty, as the sale of the low-income, high-rise building awaits approval from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kevin Cheshire, Executive Director of the Housing Authority of Winston-Salem (HAWS), said, \u201cWe don\u2019t have any relocation that\u2019s taking place currently. So, in other words, I think it\u2019s still very much an open question: whether we will, in fact, get approval to dispose of this building.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In August of 2018, HAWS announced the sale of Crystal Towers, and in the summer of 2019, it was announced that Arden Group LLC would be the buyer. The residents of this community have been in limbo for well over two years. So, what\u2019s the holdup?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was originally estimated that Crystal Towers would require $7 million in repairs. Since this initial evaluation, passage of time alone has added other necessary renovations to the already expensive laundry list, said Cheshire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, HUD\u2019s administration has changed. HUD is a Cabinet Department of the United States Federal Government, tasked with carrying out housing policy across the country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
HUD is now working to ensure that Winston-Salem city leadership is informed and communicating between branches about the sale. Significant coordination, such as finding similar housing for the current tenants, would be necessary, said Cheshire. HUD has also required that the estimated cost of repairs be updated. Cheshire provided a \u201cbest guess\u201d that this new estimate will be given to HUD in six months. It is likely that the estimate will increase from the original $7 million figure, he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Trump administration placed a heavy focus on the repositioning of aging HUD assets. According to HUD, repositioning is when the local housing agency, in this case HAWS, moves \u201cone or more housing units out of the public housing program.\u201d During the prior administration, HUD encouraged HAWS to develop creative solutions because funding was not available to complete the expensive repairs. Cheshire said it is yet to be determined if the new administration will continue to prioritize repositioning projects like Crystal Towers. If such projects are not prioritized, it is possible that HUD will take longer than anticipated to assess the disrepair and decide whether to approve the sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is also possible that COVID-19 has played a role in the stall of the sale. Construction prices have gone up, and relocation of tenants may be more difficult during this time, said Cheshire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Cheshire, the buyer\u2019s current interest in the sale, given the changing dynamics, is also yet to be assessed. Until HUD confirms its plan for Crystal Towers, there is little HAWS can do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Samuel Grier, 74 and a tenant for 12 years, is an active member of Crystal Towers United, a group of residents that advocates for the betterment of their community. When asked if HAWS has given the group a timeline for the sale, Grier replied, \u201cNo date whatsoever – they have not given us any date or said anything. Everybody is still perplexed about what they\u2019re going to do.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the sale is finalized, Grier is concerned that his options for new housing may not have access to public transportation. Grier said that although the living conditions at Crystal Towers are far from ideal, he has access to daily necessities thanks to the local bus stops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cheshire said that HAWS is working to improve communication with the residents of Crystal Towers. The on-site staff and Engagement Team at Crystal Towers have been tasked with keeping the residents up to date on the sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
COVID-19 has inhibited the ability of HAWS to hold in-person meetings with the residents. As a result, informational Zoom calls have been attempted and have worked for some tech-savvy residents, but many miss out on these opportunities. For this reason, some residents feel left out of the loop. Part of the problem, however, is that recently there are no significant updates to be provided. Until the renovation cost is estimated and given to HUD, the application for sale will not be approved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why is Crystal Towers $7 million behind in repairs? City Council Member of the Northwest Ward, Jeff MacIntosh, said that before the sale of Crystal Towers, HUD determined that housing low-income individuals in high-rise, high-concentration settings was unwise. HUD began to decrease rent subsidies it provides for such buildings each year. This essentially starves the building of funding, MacIntosh said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
HAWS, which incurs a loss of $100k each year due to subsidy cuts, is unable to provide Crystal Towers with funds for the necessary renovations. \u201cNow, I think, if that building were laid on its side and it were two stories, the units would receive four, seven, or eight hundred dollars per month in subsidy,\u201d MacIntosh said. Crystal Towers will continue to face financial struggles if some big change, like complete sale of the building, is not approved, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To fully understand the current situation at Crystal Towers, it is important to realize why the sale was proposed in the first place. When both elevators have gone out of order in Crystal Towers, people could not simply choose to take the stairs instead; Crystal Towers houses senior-citizens and individuals with disabilities. The elevators are in dire need of replacement, according to Cheshire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Considering the mobility challenges of Crystal Towers\u2019 residents, this sort of elevator disrepair was deemed unacceptable. It was determined by HAWS, given the building\u2019s prime location in downtown, that developers would show significant interest in buying. The sale of Crystal Towers would certainly get rid of the ongoing renovation problems, but many new challenges, such as finding equitable housing for the current tenants, would arise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are just going to keep providing them [Crystal Towers residents] with what we can, and in the interim we\u2019re going to keep serving the residents that are there, under the assumption that it\u2019s going to be there forever, and that they\u2019re going to be our residents,\u201d Cheshire said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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