Pennington County Housing Authority seeks support to demolish 1970s Black Fox buildings, convert to vouchers and new development

The Pennington County Housing and Redevelopment Authority asked the Board of County Commissioners on May 6 for a letter of support to demolish three aging residential buildings on Black Fox Drive and pursue redevelopment and voucher conversions.

The request came from Brian Aukbach, CEO of the Authority, who said the property — originally developed in the mid-1970s for residents with developmental disabilities — consists of dorm-style buildings with shared kitchens and bathrooms that are no longer marketable. Aukbach said Black Hills Works is vacating the site and the Authority wants permission to demolish the buildings and later redevelop the parcel. "Our plan is ... demolishing those buildings, and then there would be, at some point, a redevelopment plan put together on that property," Aukbach said. He told the commission the federal government is moving away from funding brick-and-mortar public housing toward tenant-based Section 8 vouchers and that if the Authority demolishes the units the federal program would provide Section 8 vouchers to replace the lost unit-based assistance.

Why it matters: Aukbach said the Authority has been transitioning public housing to voucher-based assistance and has increased usage of vouchers, serving roughly 100 more families in two years. He told the board the Authority sees demolition plus redevelopment as a way to modernize housing options and facilitate private-market development. Commissioners asked about rental income and voucher values; Aukbach said the Authority previously averaged about $700 per unit monthly on the older buildings and estimated a typical two-bedroom voucher payment standard would be roughly $1,200 in the local market. The board voted to approve the requested letter of support for the Housing Authority to pursue the demolition and redevelopment steps and to forward the matter for usual follow-up.

Board action: A motion to approve a letter of support for Pennington County Housing and Redevelopment Authority was made, seconded and passed by the commission. The record shows the commission also discussed the Authority’s management assumption for a Keystone property and HUD-VASH voucher utilization; Aukbach said the Authority has 149 VASH (Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing) vouchers allocated and estimated roughly 105 were in use locally.