Plans that began approximately four years ago for the revitalization of Briarfield Homes in Hattiesburg are coming to fruition, with Hattiesburg City Council’s recent approval for the Hattiesburg Housing Authority’s redevelopment of the apartment complex off of East 4th Street.
The matter was approved at this week’s council meeting, where Judy Mellard, who serves as executive director of the housing authority, said the apartments were built back in 1940 and are in need of redevelopment to provide modern, safe and affordable housing options for low-income families in the area.
“We’ve got some financing that has come together, and we’re working with the city’s support as well, and lots of different financial pieces of the puzzle that are coming together,” Mellard said. “So we’re on the verge of getting something started there.
“We’ve got two buildings over there that have already been (demolished) and built back up, and they look good, but those were done a few years ago. But the rest of the buildings are what we’ve got to get done – the plumbing is horrendous, we need to redo the walls, and it needs to be built back up with quality materials and longevity.”
According to a resolution sent to city officials by the Hattiesburg Housing Authority, the redevelopment will consist of the demolition of some of the existing units and the construction of new, high-quality affordable housing units that meet modern standards for accessibility, energy efficiency and environmental sustainability. To that end, the authority has been awarded funds from the HOME Investment Partnership Program, provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to fund a wide range of activities, including building, buying, and/or rehabilitating affordable housing for rent or homeownership.
“The older (units), they don’t have central heat and air, they don’t have washer and dryer hookups, they don’t have closet doors,” Mellard said. “It’s time – we’ve done all the patching and Band-Aids we can put on it, and so that’s what we’re doing now.
“It’ll improve the city, the community down there, and hopefully it’ll bring more business to downtown. The city’s already doing a great job with the downtown revitalization, and this will definitely be a plus in that direction, as well as provide, decent, safe, affordable housing.”
Per terms of the agreement between the city and the housing authority, the HOME funds will be used in accordance with all applicable regulations and requirements set forth by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The revitalization project is estimated to cost approximately $28 million.
“It’s a big number, and it went up since COVID too,” Mellard said. “Per unit, it’s increased about $50,000 per unit since COVID.
“We’re hoping to start within the 12-month period, as far as demolition, but not completion by any means.”
As the improvements are underway, certain residents of Briarfield Homes will be temporarily located to Robertson Place apartments on Katie Avenue in Hattiesburg.
“We’ve been doing this through attrition – as people move out, we’re not putting anybody else back in,” Mellard said. “We closed our waiting list right around COVID time … so the people that have had major issues with their units that are too expensive for us to cover, we will transfer them over to Robertson Place.
“Then when we get this financing package together, we submit it to HUD for approval, then we submit our relocation plan, and when we get the relocation plan approved through HUD, the folks remaining at Briarfield will go to Robertson Place. Every single person that we move has to be housed; we can’t just put somebody out. So everybody has a place to stay, and the same number of units that we tear down, we build back up.”
