EDGEWOOD TRANSFORMED New AMHA units readied for Monday opening

Carl Chancellor

Sep. 13, 2008 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- Maggie Jones can't wait to use her new dishwasher.

"I never had a dishwasher before. I'm really looking forward to that," said Jones, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.

On Monday, Jones, 69, will be handed the keys to her brand-new two-bedroom apartment, which will include a glistening new dishwasher among the amenities.

Jones will be presented with her apartment keys by Mayor Don Plusquellic as part of the grand opening celebration at Edgewood Village, Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority's newest housing complex.

"This project nearly completes the transformation of an entire neighborhood. It is extraordinary what so many good people have done to make this area come

alive again," Plusquellic said.

On Monday, Jones will be the first resident to move into AMHA's Edgewood Village, a $53 million mixed-income housing development built with a combination of federal, state, local and private money. When completed in 2011, Edgewood will boast 225 public housing, nonpublic housing and home-ownership units.

"It is going to be an ideal place for families . . . an ideal place to raise kids," Anthony O'Leary, AMHA executive director, said of the development, which is sandwiched by the Akron Zoo and the new Urban League headquarters in the Lane Field neighborhood.

On Thursday, O'Leary stopped by the construction site, which was a beehive of activity. Crews were putting the finishing touches on various projects to get ready for the grand opening.

"All the units have front and back porches and one-car garages," O'Leary said as he strolled along a wide boulevard that he said will be lined by trees.

The town homes, which have a cozy feel, have open floor plans, high ceilings, built-in wood cabinetry and even kitchen islands.

The first phase will open with 80, two-, three- and four-bedroom duplex and triplex town houses.

'New beginning'

O'Leary called Edgewood Village, "a new beginning," not just for Edgewood residents but also for the entire near west side neighborhood. He said the development will join the Urban League and the Helen Arnold Learning Center to be a catalyst for the neighborhood's revival.

That new beginning was made possible by a $20 million federal Hope VI revitalization grant awarded to AMHA in 2005. The goal of such grants, also used to replace the housing authority's Elizabeth Park Homes in 2003, is to create a blended community that will intersperse federally subsidized apartments with market rate rental units and owner-occupied houses.

O'Leary said the revitalization of Edgewood is based on a design philosophy termed "New Urbanism." He said the concept is an approach that garners the assets of a community -- in this case, the zoo, the library, Akron schools, Lane-Miller South Sports Complex and the new Urban League -- to provide an array of services to residents and act as a magnet to attract retail and commercial development.

"All the different partnerships that we have in place, maybe 30 to 40 different agencies, make this a very special effort with all sorts of possibilities," O'Leary said.

"It's going to be mixed income, all-working-class community."

O'Leary said all able-bodied adult residents will have to be employed or in a training or educational program.

Old units demolished

Work on Edgewood Village began in November, when the 116-unit Edgewood Homes public housing project was demolished.

O'Leary said Edgewood Homes, which was a densely packed collection of red brick town homes, was the city's second-oldest public housing project, built in 1941.

"Elizabeth Park, Edgewood and Norton Homes in Barberton were all built within three years of each other," O'Leary said.

He said Edgewood Homes began experiencing serious problems in the 1980s, when elderly residents were moved to newly built senior housing.

"The older residents had helped to stabilize Edgewood," O'Leary said. With the longtime residents gone, younger families with children moved in and the complex began a steady decline.

Jones was one of the last residents of the old Edgewood Homes, living there for more than 22 years.

"I never had any problems there and I had a lot of good neighbors," Jones said. "But it will be nice moving to a brand-new apartment."

Jones, who had already packed and pushed several moving boxes behind her recliner, said she had visited the Edgewood construction site "a couple of times" to gauge the progress.

"My apartment will be a two-bedroom apartment with central air conditioning. I'm really looking forward to moving in," she said.

Jones said she will share the apartment with a niece, who is her caregiver, and, of course, with her new dishwasher.

Carl Chancellor can be reached at 330-996-3725 or cchancellor@thebeaconjournal.com.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0006-28040334