Venice Housing Authority isn't giving up on the redevelopment of Grove Terrace Apartments.

At a Tuesday meeting chairman Sam Prost announced the board of commissioners' intent to regroup and seek alternative routes to move forward with its low-income housing redevelopment project.

For the time being, the low-income housing wait list will remain closed, and plans to demolish Grove Terrace Apartments will remain in place, Prost said, until the board has a chance to huddle with state HUD officials and plan its next move.

If HUD allows the demolition to move forward, residents would remain eligible for Section 8 vouchers, allowing them to find housing elsewhere while VHA tries to resurrect the project.

VHA commissioners voted Nov. 9 to direct Picerne Development to return $8.1 million in tax credits to Florida Housing Finance Corp., effectively killing the project as it was previously planned.

Terms up

The demise of the project drew criticism from city officials and inspired Venice Mayor Fred Hammett to begin attending VHA meetings.

Hammett has a vested interest in VHA since the mayor appoints members to its board with the consent of city council.

Three seats are currently up for reappointment. The positions are held by George Barr, Aundria Shootes and Richard Appell.

Their reappointments, normally a routine matter, were postponed by city council following public criticism at last week's meeting. Council agreed to hold off on the reappointments and accept new applications. It plans to confirm the (re)appointments at its Dec. 12 meeting.

Criticism led to the Nov. 15 resignation of Appell, past chairman of the commission and chief proponent of the redevelopment project. Hammett said Wednesday he intends to ask Appell to remain on board for at least another six months, until VHA is on more solid ground.

New deal

Commissioners are currently exploring plans to scale back the redevelopment project from the proposed 144 units to between 72 and 84 units, and reapply in 2007 for tax credits to fund construction.

But a looming March deadline by FHFC may be too soon to pull together a new deal. If it can't meet the deadline, the commission could be forced to reapply during the 2008 cycle.

Prost's first priority, however, is to stop the bleeding of VHA's almost-depleted operating budget. He suggested the commission look at suspending its $2,000 per month retainer with financial consultant Kirsten Packard now that the project has been placed on hold.

Board counsel is also scrutinizing VHA's master agreement with Picerne for financial penalties should it decide to withdraw from the contract. A cursory review of the agreement showed it contains a provision allowing either party to withdraw for any reason upon 30 days notice.

Commissioners have been vocal about their displeasure with Picerne after the developer announced the proposed Brookside Village Apartments project wasn't doable as planned. Picerne's pullout, based on what it called unforeseen cost increases and necessary rezoning, triggered return of the tax credits.

Responsibility

Rezoning the Grove Terrace property is high on the list of VHA's priorities.

Current zoning rules allow for 13 units per acre on the 6.6-acre Grove Terrace site. After Southwest Florida Water Management District water retention acreage is factored in, the RMF-3 (residential, multi-family) zoned property allows up to 72 units.

Prost, with the support of Hammett, said he intends to seek a rezoning of the property to RMF-4 (residential, multi-family, medium density), increasing the number of allowable units to 84.

Not only would rezoning potentially provide more low-income housing in the community, it would make the project more financially appealing to prospective developers interested in resurrecting the project.

"I think that's the appropriate thing to do," Hammett said.

While it may appear to some VHA has insurmountable problems, Hammett is optimistic.

"They're in a tough spot. Picerne let them down. Now they're stumped. It's a gut-wrenching problem they will have to figure their way through.

"This community and the board have a fiduciary obligation to resolve (the problems). All we can do is work within our limits to that end. To me, it can be done. And it won't be easy."

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