Nashville Civic Design Center

Case Study: HOPE VI

Foundation

In 1992, Congress reformed public housing policy with their enactment of the Housing Opportunities for People Every-where (HOPE VI) program. Funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the HOPE VI pro-gram builds “Attractive mixed-income developments and revi-talized neighborhoods” in American cities where ”distressed public housing once stood.”1

The HOPE VI program endeavors to convert the “nation’s worst public housing projects into the foundations of healthy neighborhoods, providing quality affordable housing while at-tracting new market activities and radically changing the urban landscape.”1 The program is based on the principles of New Urbanism--which is founded on the theory that people thrive when “living in houses that face the street, on traditional-sized blocks defined by a grid of public thoroughfares, at a compara-ble density to the area”2 --and defensible space which aims to create sustainable communities where residents have greater control over their space. “Well-designed and constructed hous-ing is expected to discourage vandalism”3 and empower resi-dents to take ownership over the safety and condition of their neighborhood.

Guidelines

In order to apply for HOPE VI housing in Nashville, applicants must have good credit, no police record and a job (or be en-rolled in employment training). All new homeowners are of-fered assistance by the Metropolitan Development and Hous-ing Agency (MDHA) and taught how to maintain their homes. MDHA also helps HOPE VI residents construct an “individual development plan, which includes their personal goals.”4

The following principles were established as design guidelines for HOPE VI communities:

• “Diversity: A broad range of housing types and prices will bring people of diverse ages, races and incomes into daily interaction, strengthening the personal and civic bonds es-sential to an authentic community

• Safety and Civic Engagement: The relationship of buildings and streets should enable neighbors to create a safe neigh-borhood by providing” eyes on the street” and should en-courage interaction and community identity

• Neighborhoods: Neighborhoods should be compact, with shops, schools, parks and other activities of daily life available within walking distance

• Local Architectural Character: The image and character of new development should respond to the best architectural traditions in the area

• Streets and Public Open Space: Neighborhoods should have an interconnected network of streets and public open spaces to provide opportunities for recreation and appropriate set-tings for civic activities”5

• “Lessen isolation and reduce the concentration of very low-income families; build mixed-income communities

• Revitalize the sites of severely distressed public housing and, as a result, improve the surrounding neighborhood

• Provide coordinated, comprehensive community and suppor-tive services that help residents to achieve self-sufficiency, young people to attain educational excellence, and the com-munity to secure a desirable quality of life”5

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1 Turbov, M. and Piper,V. (2005). HOPE VI and mixed-finance redevelopments: A catalyst for neighborhood renewal. Washington, DC: The Brookings Institu-tion.

2 Kreyling, C. (1999, September 20). Nashville tries different type of public housing. The Nashville Scene. Retrieved from http://weeklywire.com/ww/09-20-99/nash_cl-closer_look.html

3 Popkin, S., Katz, B., Cunningham, M., Brown, K., Gustafson, J. and Turner, M. (2004). A decade of HOPE VI: Research findings and policy challenges. Wash-ington, DC: The Urban Institute.

4 Nashville makes good use of HOPE VI grants to expand housing. (2005, January 3). The City Paper. Retrieved from http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/content/city-news/nashville-makes-good-use-hope-vi-grants-expand-housing

5 Seattle Housing Authority. (2008). Hope VI program. Retrieved from http://www.seattlehousing.org/Development/hopevi/hopevi.html

Criticism and Praise

The HOPE VI program has been criticized for not replacing housing units on a one-for-one basis and displacing former public housing residents. An additional criticism of the HOPE VI program is that it gentrifies the site, administering housing to more affluent residents rather than the poor.6

Despite the criticism, “Early evidence points to the fact that HOPE VI grants have great potential to remake distressed pub-lic housing, jump start wholesale neighborhood improvements, and help attract new investment into places where the market was previously absent.”1

“Major studies in 2004 and 2003 concluded that in HOPE VI projects per capita income is up, unemployment is down, the percentage of families on welfare is down, and crime is down (violent crime dropped a whopping 68 percent). The problems are not simply being pushed to outlying neighborhoods, either. A study of census tracts surrounding HOPE VI projects showed substantial improvements in adjacent neighborhoods.”7

Amended Hope VI

In January of 2008, the U.S. House of Representatives reau-thorized the HOPE VI program for eight years, with the provi-sion that all new developments be built to satisfy the Green Communities Criteria Checklist and replace dilapidated public housing on a one-to-one ratio. The House designated an an-nual budget of $800 million for future HOPE VI projects.8

History and Future of HOPE VI in Nashville

Thus far, Nashville has received $88.5 million in HUD funds for the redevelopment of four neighborhoods with distressed pub-lic housing: 1) Vine Hill in South Nashville, 2) Preston Taylor in West Nashville, 3) Sam Levy in East Nashville, and 4) John Henry Hale in North Nashville.

Given the numerous public housing developments in Nashville still burdened by distressed conditions, the MDHA is report-edly interested in increasing the city’s stock of HOPE VI hous-ing. “We think a beautiful mixed-income neighborhood is a net gain for low-income people versus an overly dense, traditional 60-year-old housing development. I think it’s been a very suc-cessful program in Nashville,”8 said Phil Ryan, executive direc-tor of the MDHA.

The MDHA collaborated with the Nashville Civic Design Cen-ter on the design of the new John Henry Hale development, utilizing the design proposed in The Plan of Nashville. This was the first project in the city to utilize the Ten Principles outlined in The Plan.

The Ten Principles are guidelines for public policy, development practice, urban planning and design that arose out of a community-based planning process for a re-visioned Nashville. The MDHA addressed the following principles in its develop-ment of the John Henry Hale neighborhood:

• Reestablish the streets as the principal public space of community and connectivity

Goals are:

- Physical connections among the neighborhoods and downtown by means of a rational network of streets and avenues

- Design standards for streets that ensure a high level of quality--physical and aesthetic--for the pedestrian

• Raise the quality of the public realm with civic struc-tures and spaces

Goals are:

- Civic buildings and spaces that reinforce a sense of civic pride

- Locations that are significant sites in complementary relationships

- Connections to the city network by means of vistas, streets and greenways

- Civic buildings and spaces that set high standards for the design of the city at large

• Infuse visual order into the city by strengthening sightlines to and from civic landmarks and natural features

Goals are:

- View corridors to and from significant landmarks, es-pecially the State Capitol

- View corridors and vistas of all types, from small and intimate to sweeping and grand

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6 Davis, M. (2005, October 25). Gentrifying disaster. ZNet. Retrieved from http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/5142

7 Steuteville, R. (2005, March). HOPE VI is dead; Long live HOPE VI. New Urban News. Retrieved from http://www.newurbannews.com/CommentaryMar05.html

8 House breathes new life into HOPE VI program. (2008, January 24). The City Paper. Retrieved from http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/content/city-news/house-breathes-new-life-hope-vi-program

Vine Hill

Location: South Nashville

History: Originally constructed in 1940s as temporary housing for defense workers

Owner: Vine Hill Homes, LLC

Architect: Gobbell Hays Partners and Sherman Carter Barnhart HUD Grant: $13.6 million

Total Cost: $31,947,060

Demolished: 280 units

Acres: 35

Built: 152 rental units (16 of which are market-rate)

Completed: 2001

The new Vine Hill developmentPhotos Courtesy of Metropolitan Development & Housing Agency

The new Vine Hill developmentPhoto Courtesy of Sherman Carter Barnhart

Preston Taylor

Location: West Nashville

History: Originally constructed in 1954

Owner: Preston Taylor Homes, LLC

Architect: Barge Waggoner Sumner & Cannon and Tise Hurwitz & Diamond HUD Grant: $35 million

Total Cost: $87,159,725

Demolished: 550 units

Acres: 52

Built: 310 rental units & 40 single-family homes on site, 30 rental units & 60 single-family homes on vacant lots in surrounding neighborhood and 60 unit assisted living facility

Completed: 2003

The new Preston Taylor development Photo Credit: Metropolitan Development & Housing Agency

Nashville Civic Design Center • Urban Design / Policy Brief • HOPE VI • www.civicdesigncenter.org 3

Sam Levy

Location: East Nashville

History: Originally constructed in 1953

Owner: Metropolitan Development & Housing Agency

Architect: The Larkin Group, Barge Waggoner Sumner & Cannon, and Tise Hurwitz & Diamond

HUD Grant: $20 million

Total Cost: $33,732,285

Demolished: 480 units

Built: 226 units and 39 homeownership units

Completed: 2007

Sam Levy Homes before demolitionPhoto Credit: Shelley Mays/The Tennessean

From The Plan of Nashville --Aerial view of the former Sam Levy

Homes and the spaghetti junction Photo Credit: Metro Planning Department

Demolition of Sam Levy Homes Photo Credit: Shelley Mays/The Tennessean

The new Sam Levy neighborhood Photo Credit: Metropolitan Development & Housing Agency

Residents play outside their home in the new Sam Levy neighborhood Photo Credit: Shelley Mays/The Tennessean

Nashville Civic Design Center • Urban Design / Policy Brief • HOPE VI • www.civicdesigncenter.org 4

John Henry Hale

Location: North Nashville

History: Originally constructed in 1951

Owner: Metropolitan Development & Housing Agency

Architect: Barge Waggoner Sumner & Cannon and Tise Hurwitz & Diamond HUD Grant: $20 million

Total Cost: $58,374,349

Demolished: 498 units

Acres: 32.4

Built: 228 townhouse and duplex units and 41 single-family homes off site

Completed: 2008

Aerial view of the former Henry Hale Housing ProjectPhoto Credit: Metro Planning Department

Demolition of John Henry Hale Homes

From The Plan of Nashville--Proposed plan for the redevelopment of the site of John Henry Hale Homes, which honors the Capitol Axes plan by placing a large civic lawn along the western axis of the Capitol, while reserving a space for a future civic building that will terminate the axisDrawing: Metro Planning Department, Lee Jones

The new John Henry Hale development

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The new John Henry Hale development Photo Credit: Metropolitan Development & Housing Agency

The new John Henry Hale development Photo Credit: Thornton & Associates Inc.

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