Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Housing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Housing Authority outlines multi‑year redevelopment plan, warns HUD metrics and unit repairs are straining capacity
Summary
HACA Executive Director Melissa Maddox Evans told the Annapolis City Council the authority is pursuing a HACA 2035 framework and several redevelopment closings while managing a 91.22% occupancy rate (HUD goal 96%) and 48 units under repair; she requested continued city partnership and noted federal funding and inspection timing create operational uncertainty.
Melissa Maddox Evans, executive director and CEO of the Housing Authority of the City of Annapolis, told the City Council on July 13 that HACA is in a period of transition and pursuing a long‑term asset‑management vision called HACA 2035 to guide redevelopment and preserve affordability.
"Our mission has not changed, but the responsibility in the delivery of our services has," Maddox Evans said, laying out four strategic initiatives: physical transformation of properties, institutional transformation, resident stability and upward mobility, and stronger governance and transparency. She said HACA has completed four redevelopment closings and plans three more in the next 18 months and expects to bring roughly $500 million in reinvestment tied to those projects.
Maddox Evans provided operational detail about HACA's current portfolio. She said the authority manages 554 units, reported a current occupancy figure of 91.22% against HUD's 96% goal and said 48 units are presently under repair. "We have 48 vacant units currently," she said, and estimated the average cost to turn a unit at $20,000–$30,000 because of age, supply‑chain delays and more extensive required repairs.
She described HUD's occupancy calculation as a formula the authority does not control, noting it excludes units that HUD permits to be taken offline for approved modernization or program uses. She said HACA has scheduled to place nine now‑vacant units at Robinwood into a HUD‑approved offline status while preparing for redevelopment and expects to close on Robinwood and Bloomsbury Square in 2027.
Council members pressed for metrics and documentation. Several asked whether the HACA 2035 framework exists in writing and requested that board reports and the quarterly presentation be distributed to council members. Maddox Evans said board reports with HUD benchmarks and month‑to‑month trends are posted on HACA’s public website and agreed to ensure council members receive the reports when they are released.
Council members also focused on HUD monitoring and funding timing. Maddox Evans said HACA has been under a HUD recovery process focused on Eastport Terrace and Harbor House and that HUD has not yet scheduled inspections this year; she said recovery work includes a required redevelopment plan for those sites. She described recent voucher funding delays that constrained program flexibility and said HACA has advocated with federal and state partners when funding shortfalls appear.
On operations, Maddox Evans listed practical causes for slow unit turnaround: extensive repairs on aging units, long lead times for materials, and contractor pricing. "If I had a couple million dollars, I could just go ahead and fix everything, boom, like that," she said. She told council members HACA recently hired six contractors (more than typical) to secure competitive pricing and speed work.
Maddox Evans urged city partnership on funding and implementation and said that while HUD funds remain essential, local investment and private partners are necessary to sustain redevelopment. She described HACA's engagement with Y (child care), Congresswoman Elfreth’s office and prospective developers on mixed‑use elements, and said the agency is preparing a tax‑credit application (9% LIHTC) that was due mid‑July.
The council did not take formal action at the meeting; Maddox Evans said she will provide the council with additional documentation and cost details on unit repairs and occupancy metrics.
