KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A project to transform the Western Heights community in Knoxville is underway. The goal is to revitalize the area and invest in the people, the housing, and the neighborhood as a whole.
The City Council approved $4.2 million for Knoxville's Community Development Corporation's, or KCDC's, "Transforming Western" project.
"It's a huge community revitalization effort," said Ben Bentley, the leader of KCDC. "And it really focuses on three different components — housing, neighborhood, and people. And we're really looking at specific strategic ways to invest in all three of those."
The project replaces existing subsidized housing with newer buildings and adds new affordable and market-rate housing options.
"It's really looking at the outcomes and, including income of the people that were at Western Heights, the neighborhood residents at the beginning of this process and how we increase the economic vitality and the income and the potential earnings of people over the six-year process," he said.
The original public housing units in the Western Heights area were built in the 1930s, with a second phase in the 1950s. After taking time to speak to the community, KCDC said it is working on another upgrade. By the end of construction, upgraded infrastructure will be in place with new community resources and a range of different types of housing.
"The $4.2 million that was committed by the city of Knoxville earlier this week is part of infrastructure funding that will support the next three phases of housing," said Bentley. "So those three phases will really happen over the next two to three years. But in terms of the larger projects, so we're talking about the rehabilitation of 240 existing public housing units and the creation of 479 new construction units within the neighborhood. That's really a 5 or 6-year process from where we sit right now. It's long term."
He said the goal is to make Western Heights a mixed-income area, where neighbors are empowered and feel safe. Bentley said without the resources and funding of others, KCDC wouldn't have been able to complete this project.
"So KCDC, through for various federal reasons, has been unable to reinvest," said Bentley. "But now because of the [HUD] $40 million transforming Western Choice Neighborhoods grant, we're able to make that commitment to the community. The timing's right, the city of Knoxville providing this, not only the $4.2 million for this year, but a $26.2 million commitment over the course of transforming Western is hugely meaningful."
He said no matter where a community is located, neighbors generally want the same things.
"They want a safe place, they want a walkable neighborhood and want a place where their kids can go to school within the neighborhood. They want some amenities. So, maybe it's a coffee shop or a small cafe that they can have within their neighborhood," he said. "We're excited to be able to work directly with the residents of Western Heights and the community members in the broader Beaumont area to make their vision a reality."
The Department of Housing and Urban Development requires this development to be multi-income. Bentley said it also helps those who grew up in the area stay in the area if their income also starts to change through the investment of "Transform Western."
"Through this grant, we want to grow people's incomes," said Bentley. "If someone does very well, and they live in subsidized housing, it is possible that in five years, they will not qualify for that housing any longer. I think it would be a shame for folks to not be able to live in Western Heights if that's a place that they've grown up in and lived in for decades. So we really are trying to give people an opportunity."