Relocation Questions
The Raleigh Housing Authority has committed that any resident that is lease-compliant will have the opportunity to return to Heritage Park. Lease compliance means that if you are in good standing on your lease with RHA , you would be accepted into the redeveloped site.
If you have concerns about your status, please reach out to the property manager to learn about tools and resources to ensure you are eligible to return.
A relocation schedule will be shared once the site plan has been proposed and accepted and a financing structure has been established. All residents that will be affected by relocation will be notified in advance.
The Raleigh Housing Authority will have relocation specialists that will work with each family affected to minimize disruption as much as possible. Relocation costs will be paid for or reimbursed by the RHA, including utility shut off and turn on, and moving expenses.
These amounts will be determined by the Uniform Relocation Act (URA) at the time of relocation. Current URA information can be found here: www.hudexchange.info/programs/relocation/overview/#residential-relocation
The Raleigh Housing Authority is partnering with local housing providers to place project-based voucher units in developments throughout the city. These units, in addition to RHA’s other public housing units, will be relocation options for Heritage Park residents. Residents will also have the opportunity to receive a tenant-based voucher for their housing needs.
Question from Zoom meeting: Can you share a bit more on what plans you have to make sure the current residents will have a place to stay, not be displaced and left to their own devices? There was a lot of discussion on the way Heritage Park will be reconstructed but not a lot of discussion on the people.
Regarding residents, we stand by our commitment to ensure that residents in good standing will have a right to return, and we will work with residents well in advance of a move. We will hire full-time relocation specialists to work with families to help locate housing options and provide related assistance. RHA will pay for all reasonable relocation expenses. We will provide more details during our April meetings.
The Raleigh Housing Authority is setting up contracts (project-based vouchers) with local housing providers to set aside units in their developments for residents from Heritage Park. Residents will have the option of renting these project-based voucher units. These units, in addition to RHA’s other public housing units, will be relocation options for Heritage Park residents. Residents will also have the opportunity to receive a tenant-based voucher for their housing needs.
More information is on our website. We will continue to update that page and keep the residents informed. https://www.rhaonline.com/rental-assistance-demonstration-rad/faqs/
Yes, RHA will work with local development partners and other key stakeholders to arrange site visits for residents to see properties that are potential relocation options for them.
Residents can opt to move as early as summer 2024. Please be sure to fill out the resident survey indicating your preference to be an early mover.
RHA has considered a phased relocation, but we have a number of concerns related to quality of life.
- Site costs: Development partner estimates that the total cost for site work is estimated to be around $20-$25 million. For a phased demolition, it would add 40%-50% more cost and would limit the number of units we can build.
- Inconvenience: As we have seen with nearby construction
- Safety: Living on an active construction site creates potential safety issues for residents and their families. This is exacerbated by the fact that there is only a single access point on site.
- Utilities: Water and electricity would need to be moved twice, which would add even more costs, and RHA couldn’t guarantee consistent utilities while residents were onsite during construction.
RHA will have case managers to work with individuals to address all concerns related to school, work, medical or other needs.
If you move to an RHA-owned Public Housing neighborhood, we will transfer your security deposit for you. If you choose to use a voucher, RHA will provide you with a refund of your security deposit to give to your new landlord.
RHA staff distributed flyers about the meeting to residents in our one-bedroom units which tend to be occupied by our seniors. We will meet in-person with all residents to help them process their relocation. Vouchers will be provided to residents both in-person and will be digitally in our computer system. RHA staff will maintain a database of all residents with their preferred communication method. Residents are encouraged to complete the survey and/or indicate on the sign-in sheet what is the best way for RHA to reach them.
RHA can assist early mover residents, even without receipt of HUD funds. We are also offering the Ready to Rent Program free of charge to Heritage Park residents. The next class is coming up in a few weeks. Please see your manager to sign-up.
Staff is keeping track of each resident to ensure they attend an in-person or virtual meeting, and if they can’t come to us, we will go them.
Considering we have a homeless crisis, have you thought about making the extra units available to the homeless population first before accommodating the community who already has resources to housing?
RHA does not currently know the mix of income for the 550-900 units we plan to build, though it will be a range of 30%-80% of AMI as well as market rate units. We will have at least 122 units that are deeply affordable. Some of the unhoused population may be served through that tier of housing unit. We do recognize the crisis, and we’re trying to address that now through our Strategic Plan that aims for creating at least 2,000 more affordable units and partnerships for project-based vouchers. We are also actively working with others who provide services for people who are transitioning from homelessness.
Yes, RHA plans to submitted the application to HUD by their July 1, 2024 deadline.
While RHA has plans to share our relocation with elected officials, the Council doesn’t have a part in creating or approving the plan. This is an internal document, and it is not something that the City will process or approve.
The new Heritage Park is applying for Section 18, not RAD or Rental Assistance Demonstration.
RHA will manage paying your subsidy and residents will apply with individual landlords. Our case managers will assist each resident in completing applications and providing any financial information the new property owner may require. RHA is also working hard to provide additional benefits to residents, such as expedited security deposit returns.
RHA will not have limitations or requirements like we did with other properties that were redeveloped in the past through Hope VI grants, like Walnut Terrace. Residents will be able to relocate and move back into the new Heritage Park with no time limit restrictions.
You can reach out to the Raleigh Housing Authority planning and development team at info@rhaonline.com or (919) 508-1301 if you have any further questions.
Redevelopment Plan
Very recently, the Raleigh Housing Authority received a report about the physical conditions of Heritage Park that is simply staggering. The report has given us an even greater sense of urgency about the need to provide far better housing conditions at Heritage Park for current residents, future residents, and residents of generations to come. In addition, federal funding will not cover the cost of repairs.
For more information, please see CEO remarks at our September 20 Development Planning event.
The RHA has hired a master development team to plan the redevelopment of Heritage Park.
Brinshore Development and Raleigh Raised Development, together with the Raleigh Housing Authority, are the development partners for Heritage Park. They have joined with Torti Gallas Partners, Moseley Architects and BL Wall to act as the Master Planner of the site.
The Master Planning Process began with resident and community meetings in June of 2023. During 2023, the team is continuing to seek input from residents, community members, city staff and leadership and other stakeholders.
On September 20, 2023, another meeting was held on site at Heritage Park to have smaller discussions focused around opportunities, challenges, and hopes for the future Heritage Park. On November 14, 2023, another stakeholder meeting was held in the RHA Community Room at 971 Harp Street. January 22-25, 2024, a 4-day planning workshop was held where stakeholders were able to drop in and give the planning and development team feedback on what they hope to see in the new community. All of this qualitative data will lead to the development options for presentation to the Raleigh Housing Authority Board in early 2024. These options will take into consideration the feedback from the residents and stakeholders as well as what will work best for the site from a construction and financing perspective.
No, there is no final plan yet. The development and planning team will not propose a plan until adequate feedback has been gathered and considered.
Construction will not begin on site until 2025 at the earliest. The development and planning team will share a more detailed timeline once a redevelopment plan has been proposed and accepted. The timing will depend greatly on the availability of financial resources.
The new project will likely be financed using Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) and will have project-based vouchers to subsidize the rent of current residents so that they will continue to pay 30% of income in rent. For current residents who live in a LIHTC unit without a project-based voucher, rents will also be set at 30% of income.
The relocation specialists and property management team will work with each Heritage Park resident that wants to return to the site to find the best unit for them, and we will ensure no current Heritage Park resident is in a unit that they cannot afford.
Comment from Zoom meeting: I would like to see Heritage Park have more protections. The City is planning on rezoning the Red Hat into the same district as Heritage Park. Thus the taxes in that area will go up.
It is expected that Heritage Park will continue to benefit from a real estate property tax exemption. Additionally, it should be noted that RHA and the Heritage Park redevelopment are not affiliated or connected to the Red Hat Amphitheater site.
Question from Zoom meeting: RHA has rule that a person can’t work from home. How can someone who wants to take advantage of the entrepreneurial opportunities to work at home?
The RHA resident contract allows for limited use of a resident for business or commercial purposes. Please see excerpts below:
Section 9 – Item E: To use the dwelling unit solely as a private dwelling for the Resident and members of the Resident’s household as identified in this Lease (“authorized occupants”) and not to permit use of the dwelling unit for any other purpose including business and commercial purposes, except as provided in Section 7C.
Section 7 – Item C: With prior written consent of the Housing Authority, the head of household or any adult member of the household may engage in legal profit-making activities in the unit, where the Housing Authority determines that such activities are incidental to the primary use of the unit for residence by members of the household.
Section 6 – Item D – Number 1. Resident is required to report and provide verification of all changes in writing within thirty (30) days of the change. This includes all increases or decreases in income and household composition. Failure to report changes within thirty (30) days is fraud and rent will be adjusted retroactively to the effective date of the changes.
Cameras will be considered as part of a plan to enhance safety.
The proposed plan for Heritage Park will be included in the Section 18 application. The plan will likely be submitted within the next six months (by July 2024).
You can reach out to the Raleigh Housing Authority planning and development team at info@rhaonline.com or (919) 508-1301 if you have any further questions.
