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American Press
27-05-2025
- Politics
- American Press
Police Jury recognizes Taylor for 44 years of service
Ben Taylor is presented a plaque honoring his 44 years of service to the parish. (Special to the American Press) During the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury's most recent meeting, the panel recognized the retirement of Ben Taylor Jr., executive director of the Lake Charles Housing Authority. Taylor is retiring after 44 years of service. Tarek Polite, director of human resources for the Police Jury, presented Taylor with a brief summary of his accomplishments over the years and a plaque on behalf of the jurors. 'Throughout his 30-year tenor in this role, Ben has not only transformed the agency, but also emerged as a respected innovator in the housing industry — one of his significant accomplishments was the transformation of the Lake Charles Housing Authority's Public Housing Portfolio into the Rental Assistance Demonstration model, known as (RAD), this unique program prioritizes public housing,' Polite said. Additionally, Polite said Taylor successfully secured the 'Choice Neighborhood' initiative brand, which they expect will revitalize the mid-city area of Lake Charles over the next 25-30 years and bring in more than $200 million in investment. Ben's commitment to affordable housing and community development led him to serve in various capacities at the national, regional and state level with organizations such as the Louisiana Housing Council and the Louisiana Housing Corporation, Polite said. 'He's more than just 'the numbers guy,' he's a man with deep compassion for the citizens of our parish and has worked to secure disaster recovery funding during this time,' Polite said. 'There comes a time when you go, 'It's time' and 'It's time,' ' Taylor said. 'I've enjoyed what I've done, I'm proud of what I've done, I appreciate the support we've had from the Police Jury on all of our projects that we've done.' Police Juror Brian Abshire said it was a pleasure working with Tyalor. 'The twilight of your career has been a little rough on you, but you ended on a great note,' Abshire said.
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Red tape and frustration: Mississippi public housing struggles as federal funding lags
From cinderblock, single-story duplexes and quadplexes to rows of brick townhomes, public housing projects aren't difficult to spot in Mississippi — particularly those that buckle under the weight of their age. Getting these properties cleaned up comes with much federal red tape and frustration for many local leaders. As these past housing solutions go offline, underfunded authorities hope to address community needs by doing more with less. One abandoned public housing project in Poplarville, Glenwild, was built in 1967 with asbestos and lead paint and now sits vacant. The city has little power to address its condition. 'We would love to be able to just come in, demolish it and do something, but it's not that easy,' said the Rev. Jimmy Richardson, a director for South Mississippi Housing Development. 'There's so much red tape … let alone the dollar amount it would take.' Federal law requires a replacement plan before redevelopment. Glenwild's cost estimate is around $10 million, and even if a project is planned, the South Mississippi Housing Authority must prove it has the financial backing to proceed. Public housing authorities nationwide have struggled with budget shortfalls for decades. Justin 'Jimmy' Brooks, president of the South Mississippi Housing Authority, said funding has been insufficient since the 1980s. 'When I was a director at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in in the 2010 time period, we estimated there was about a $40 billion shortfall in what we needed to take care of our priorities nationwide, and that was in 2010 — it's probably more than tripled since then,' Brooks said. To offset this shortfall, HUD introduced the Rental Assistance Demonstration program, shifting public housing to a private funding model with capped rents. 'A lot of large housing authorities — us, included — just dove right in. We took all of our public housing out of the public housing program — put it all this private program. It's been an absolute challenge ever since, because we don't generate enough revenue to take care of the properties, and now we've eliminated our ability to get federal grant funding,' Brooks said. Now, the South Mississippi Housing Authority must generate its own revenue, much of it from capped rents. In some cases, rent prices are set at half the market rate. 'For example, a two-bedroom rent here, the market rent is $1,000 — we might be getting $540 a month. We're literally being asked to do the same thing as the private market, with substantially less funding,' Brooks said. 'We're stuck with it until Congress takes action, which is to be determined.' Brooks said the biggest challenge for Mississippi public housing has been rising insurance costs, which have been eating away at the authority's operational budget. 'When I came here (in June 2021), it cost about $1.2 million to insure all of our properties. Now, the cost to insure our real estate is over $4 million,' Brooks said. 'We're scared to death to see what our May 1 renewal is going to look like this year, but whatever it is, the properties can't afford it today, and we could barely afford what the insurance was last year.' The South Mississippi Housing Authority, the largest in the state, serves about 26,000 people. It manages 917 active units and about 100 deteriorating ones across Mississippi's lower 14 counties. As costs rise, more units may go offline. 'We've got lagging income, we've got expenses that are just on a rocket ship ride. We've got insurance that is completely unaffordable to anyone in luxury apartments down to government-subsidized housing, and if you can get the materials that you need to maintain your properties, you're going to pay probably 50% higher than what you could realistically budget for. And we've got all of those factors rolling into what is ultimately going to be the biggest crisis that I've seen in affordable housing,' Brooks said. As a result, many of these public housing projects sit untouched, falling into further dilapidation. 'Which creates friction with cities, with counties, with code enforcement, with the community who's saying, 'Hey, you really need to do something about these properties,' Brooks said. 'And then you have public housing authorities like us that are saying, 'Well, we're already investing $2 million of losses back into to the properties to keep them at the status quo.'' In Poplarville alone, the South Mississippi Housing Authority loses more than $100,000 annually to keep public housing units online for low-income families. In 2025, as the South Mississippi Housing Authority faces these pressures, more units will go offline, Brooks said. For smaller properties like Glenwild, projected revenue from capped rents does not cover the costs of redevelopment. The South Mississippi Housing Authority has a plan to demolish the 12 units and partner with a nonprofit to build affordable single-family housing, a plan not yet approved by HUD. Despite these challenges, housing authorities across Mississippi are still working to provide new public housing solutions. The South Mississippi Housing Authority is about to begin construction on a 40-unit project in north Gulfport called North Park Estates Phase 2, which involves demolishing old, dilapidated units for a rebuild. 'We've had supply issues. We've had construction pricing issues. You know, the 40 units, we estimated it would cost about ten million to build it. We're up to about $14 million in estimated cost right now,' Brooks said. Brooks said large projects are more cost-effective for public housing developers because they produce more revenue, but getting money on the front end is challenging. He said much funding for affordable housing at the city and county level has dried up in the past two decades. The authority's other active project, Coastal Pointe, includes more than 12 funding sources to form a $16 million plan viable to HUD. The project will demolish older units on a property called Canal Pointe and move residents into 60 units of new, three-story apartment buildings. Sheleatha McCullum, 44, was born and raised in Gulfport public housing. Currently a nursing assistant, she said her six years at Canal Point has allowed her to achieve some financial stability is looking forward to the new project. '(Public housing) has helped me tremendously in trying to get to where I'm trying to get to,' McCullum said. 'I don't plan on moving, but if I did, this would be a start — for anybody.' Tamillia Black, a Moss Point native, moved into Canal Point three years ago. She is thankful for what she finds to be a peaceful community. 'I was homeless. I had nothing. It's a blessing to have a roof over my head,' Black said. 'I was on a wait list; I think I waited five years to get out here. I was home to home, living off others. It was tough for me at some points, really tough.' Black said public housing is necessary, and that new development at Coastal Pointe is necessary to answer the aging structures in the community. 'With public housing, you face a dual problem, because public housing in Section 8 usually has rent limits as to what the federal government will let an owner of public housing charge, and it doesn't accommodate any increase in insurance every year,' said Mike Chaney, Mississippi Commissioner of Insurance. After Hurricane Katrina, the state Legislature formed the Comprehensive Hurricane Damage Mitigation Program, which provides grant funding to make properties, particularly those of lower-income individuals, less vulnerable to storm damage in the six coastal counties: Pearl River, Stone, George, Hancock, Harrison and Jackson counties. Mississippi state law requires insurance companies to give discounts for homes mitigated to the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety FORTIFIED standard, which includes reinforced roofs and windows. 'If you mitigate a home or public housing or storm damage, you reduce the insurance rates anywhere from 30 to 40%, and that's been our proactive choice,' Chaney said. The program was unfunded until last year, when it received $5 million to provide $10,000 to each selected recipient to fortify buildings and to measure public interest in such a program. House Bill 959, currently in the hands of the Senate, would extend the program. While Chaney hopes to see more funding appropriated to the program, he has not seen much interest in the state legislature. Chaney also said the federal government is unlikely to help curb the impact of insurance rates on public housing anytime soon. 'I don't see the government putting any money out at all to try to raise any of the rent subsidies that they give out for the cost of living, or the cost of insurance,' Chaney said. U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, chair for the upper house's Transportation, Housing and Urban Development subcommittee, did not respond to our request for comment on developments at the federal level. As Mississippi housing authorities balance these increasing financial strains, Brooks said policy responses will have to be made at the state and federal levels to keep the state's public housing at the status quo. 'This isn't a Mississippi problem. It's certainly not a Poplarville problem. It is a nationwide challenge that I would say is starting to get to crisis level,' Brooks said. 'There are millions of units of public housing that are that are in this situation.'
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
What is under construction in east-central Chandler? Will this housing be affordable?
Location: 77 N. McQueen Road in Chandler Description: The Villas on McQueen will be a 157-unit affordable housing development, along with community space and park areas, built as a partnership between Chandler and Gorman and Company, a national developer of affordable housing. The units will range from one to five bedrooms and will serve both families and senior citizens. Individuals from special populations, such as seniors, veterans and people with disabilities, will be given specific consideration when leasing the units, according to city documents. The development, on a five-acre site, broke ground in June 2024. The project used the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Rental Assistance Demonstration program and was funded in part through American Rescue Plan funds, Arizona Department of Housing National Housing Trust Funds, federal and state tax credits and traditional loans. History: The project is a redevelopment of another aging public housing development that was lower density. The city approved the development agreement between Gorman and the city in October 2022. When will the work be done? Construction is expected to be completed in late 2026. Source: City of Chandler and Gorman and Co. Is there something under construction you'd like to tell us about or find out more about? Contact reporter Corina Vanek at cvanek@ Like this story? Get more East Valley news straight into your email inbox by signing up for our free weekly East Valley Newsletter, which comes out on Wednesdays. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: The Villas on McQueen housing development in Chandler opening in 2026
