Drug dealers probably don't spend a lot of time discussing the merits of apartment building layout..."Check it! If the tower faced west we could enjoy sunsets every night as we fire up some rock."
Yet, repositioning and resizing Oakwood Plaza apartment complex is exactly what CIS Investment Strategies, a development firm, wants to do to reduce crime in a Section-8, low-to-moderate income building that is currently "a mess," says Chris Foglio, president of CIS as quoted in The New York Times.
The plan is this:
Demolition of the five-story brick midrises because, Ms. Foglio says, many of the property's problems stem from its outmoded, institutional design. Instead, apartments will face an oval lawn and parking lot. New construction will consist of low-rise buildings oriented to the street, effectively giving everyone a front door. This should increase a sense of neighborhood and community, but will come at a price. It will reduce the complex by about 100 units.
And oh yeah, nix the Section 8 contracts. (Get those poor people outta here!) To their credit, CIS wants HUD to issue vouchers that stay with the tenant rather than with the building. That way, tenants could use them to move to other places.
via The New York Times
