Galveston Mayor Lewis Rosen has posted a message regarding today's meeting on public housing issues.
Galveston and GLO officials met today to discuss the future of public housing on the island. Galveston Housing Authority officials believe that the GLO is ready to move forward with a plan that meets the desires of the new council as well as meeting the expectations of the housing advocates.
The plans discussed revolve around some housing being constructed on the Magnolia Homes and Cedar Terrace sites. The total number of units are still being determined.
The remainder of the required public housing units will come from rehabilitation of existing structures around the island. It is the desire of both groups to focus on dilapidated homes. These units will be on the tax roll. The end goal of this portion of the program will be to convert these units over time into home ownership by the tenants.
The Oleander Homes property will be sold under this plan. The future use of the property would be determined by the new owner placing the property and all of its future improvements on the tax rolls.
Finally all parties concur that the coordinated community recovery plan for economic development, housing and for infrastructure is underway for current and future rounds of CDBG funding. City Officials are working in concert with the GLO for the smooth implementation of this plan.
All involved caution that these talks are very preliminary and that changes may occur as the plan progresses forward.