Public housing residents in Mobile under pressure to move, but some say they have no place to go

By Brendan Kirby

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    MOBILE, Alabama (WALA) — Only about 200 people remains in a pair of sprawling public housing complexes, but soon, they will have to join their neighbors who moved long ago.

R.V. Taylor Plaza and Thomas James Place, which run along Michigan Avenue, contain 1,368 homes. But they are aging and dilapidated, and most are vacant and boarded-up, giving the neighborhood the feel of a ghost town.

But some of the 202 remaining residents say they have no place to go.

“I don’t like it,” said Annie Hill, who has lived at Thomas James Place for 40 years. “I like where I am.”

Hill said she does not know where she will move.

“I’m trying to find somewhere to go,” she said. “And it’s kind of hard. ‘Cause I’m on a waiting list. And it’s hard. It’s all I’m doing is waiting.”

Hill is not alone. Michael Piece, the executive director of the Mobile Housing Authority, said Housing Choice Voucher program has a waiting list of 1,107, with another 2,669 on a waiting list for traditional public housing.

The vouchers help low-income residents afford rent in the commercial rental market. Pierce said he it is part of a national effort by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to break up concentrated poverty by transitioning away form large public housing complexes.

But Piece acknowledged a lack of affordable housing and the challenge posed by commercial apartment owners refusing to accept the vouchers.

“There’s a shortage of affordable housing across the country,” he said. “So it’s not unique to Mobile. But clearly, we could all use another 5,000 or more units coming online. And there are efforts to bring units online, but that takes time.”

Eventually, the homes in R.V. Taylor and Thomas James Place will be demolished, and the land – along with the vacant Boykin Tower – will be sold to the Mobile Airport Authority to make way for expansion of the emerging Mobile International Airport

Of the nearly 300 remaining residents, 89 have been relocated, with 14 more planned for the next 30 days, according to Pierce. He told FOX10 News that 11 are waiting for inspections, two are moving to Emerson Gardens and another is moving to Orange Grove.

The initial deadline for the rest to move is Dec. 31, but Piece said no one will be forced out without having a place to go to. He said the housing board is working with residents to find temporary or permanent housing. Help includes even transportation assistance, he said.

District 2 City Councilman William Carroll said at this week’s meeting that negative attitudes toward affordable housing have hampered development efforts.

“It’s unfortunate,” he said. “Sometimes in our community, we have neighborhoods that don’t want to see that type of housing, no matter how pleasant and nicely built it is.”

Annette Anderson said she, too, found it hard to find a place that accepts public housing vouchers. She said she finally found an apartment on Sage Avenue and will move next month. She said the apartment will cost her more out of pocket than what she been paying at Thomas James Place, but she added that she is ready to move on.

“I’ve been here 22 years,” she told FOX10 News. “I raised all my kids here. And my kids is grown. They’re in their own house.”

Anderson said she wants someplace safe for her and her disabled child. She said she occasionally hears gunfire at night.

“I feel at nighttime, you know, due to out empty complex, you know, I don’t feel safe at night,” she said.

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