Federal Grant to Revitalize Cleaborn Homes

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - A makeover is coming for one of the last public housing projects in Memphis. The Memphis Housing Authority (MHA) has been awarded $22 million to revitalize Cleaborn Homes. It's a bittersweet moment for some longtime residents.

The future facelift is almost the end of the road for MHA Executive Director Robert Lipscomb. In his eleven years on the job, he's seen more than two dozen public housing projects turned around. And while he celebrates the latest, he's already looking forward to the next and last one, which he hopes will put Memphis on a new path.

After moving to urban Memphis from rural Mississippi, Alice Mae Durra transitioned into the public housing system.

"I came from the Fowler Homes, and I been over here 10 years. I lived in Fowler Homes 8 years. So I been in the projects for 18 years," Durra remembers.

She said life at Cleaborn Homes has changed drastically over the last decade. "Violence, shooting. A lot of shooting. You don't know where a bullet comes from."

She wants out, but there was no way until she heard the news Wednesday.

Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Assistant Secretary Raphael Bostic announced that the MHA will get $22M to revitalize public housing.

MHA Executive Director Robert Lipscomb said, "Look around here, people are down-trodden, they are depressed, anybody would be in these situations."

For victims of circumstance, now there is hope for change. But, it's change that won't come quickly.

"It's going to take a while to get people to change. Change who they are, change what they do, raise expectation levels. That's what this is about, giving people hope."

The grant is awarded under the HOPE VI program, a successful endeavor to improve housing conditions for countless low-income communities. The Cleaborn Homes project makes the 5th grant in Memphis.

"We got a late start, some cities like Atlanta had a head start on us, and they are also larger than we are, so I think our number of 5 ranks up there with anybody," Lipscomb said.

Lipscomb is modest about the success, but Congressman Steve Cohen gladly sings his praises.

Cohen said, "Robert is truly a star, and he's been the driving force in city hall on these projects and others. Without Robert, the city would be a lot worse than it is."

The grant money will cover the demolition of all of the current 460 distressed units, and replace them with 400 rental units. This year, HUD encouraged the housing authorities to incorporate early childhood components in their revitalization plans, so families will be introduced to Head Start programs.

"It's going to help revitalize this neighborhood, it's important for downtown, and it creates jobs," Cohen said with a smile.

While leaving a place called home will be bittersweet for many, it's a chance to start over, and a new beginning is something many people here dream of.

The MHA is required to relocate all of the families. Each tenant is matched with a case worker to come up with a self-sufficiency plan to make sure they are on the right track when they leave. Lipscomb said the last public housing project now is Foote Homes, and he is going to focus all his attention there next.