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Council hears plans for Central Plaza Towers, Emerson Gardens and unused MHA parcels
Summary
Pat Moore outlined redevelopment plans for Central Plaza Towers (462 units), Emerson Gardens (repositioning cost about $10 million), and several unused parcels (Josephine Allen, Orange Grove, Roger Williams, Cottage Hill), noting floodplain constraints, pending tax-credit financing, and planned resident relocation options.
Pat Moore, interim CEO of the Mobile Housing Authority, told the Administrative Service Committee that Central Plaza Towers (CPT) contains roughly 462 apartments and is the subject of a tax-credit financing application to the Alabama Housing Finance Agency, while Emerson Gardens — an elderly community that is fully occupied — has an estimated repositioning cost of about $10 million.
Moore said the CPT project aims to modernize units (new appliances, renovated bathrooms, ADA compliance and elevator work) and to convert some efficiency apartments to one-bedroom units to better match demand. The authority is awaiting a decision from the state housing finance agency on tax credits "within the next 30 to 60 days," she said. Emerson will be funded through MHA capital funds and will be rehabbed in phases to minimize resident disruption; Moore said the agency plans to renovate about 30 units at a time and offered temporary relocation options (Central Plaza Towers when available, contracted long-term hotel stays paid by MHA, or family-hosting with storage provided).
Moore also described four parcels of unused land owned by MHA — Josephine Allen (about 43 acres, currently under a city loan/lean), Orange Grove (adjacent to public housing and attractive for redevelopment), Roger Williams (about 70 acres, with about two-thirds constrained by floodplain), and Cottage Hill (about 4.4 acres on the northern end of a mixed-income project). She said some land may be best sold for commercial/industrial uses because of floodplain and surrounding industrial sites, while other parcels could be viable for affordable housing given proximity to downtown and hospitals. "Some of these properties are also in the flood plain and cannot be redeveloped," she said.
Why it matters: The projects involve multi-million-dollar financing decisions and will affect where low-income residents live during repositioning. Council members pressed for detail on timing, unit mix and relocation logistics; Moore said a developer selection for Emerson is pending a board vote and that CPT’s financing is contingent on state tax-credit approval.
Moore said MHA is coordinating with the city and seeking partners for redevelopment and that the authority is exploring multiple funding sources, including HUD competitive grants and nontraditional local funding streams. She noted earlier land sales to the Mobile Airport Authority occurred before her tenure and emphasized the need for coordinated planning, including potential comprehensive planning for constrained parcels.
Next steps: Moore said the board will consider contractor selection for Emerson in an upcoming meeting and that the committee will receive updates once tax-credit allocations and developer selections are finalized.
