The Housing Authority of Winston-Salem, or HAWS, has been awarded a $30 million grant. The funds will be used to overhaul the Cleveland Avenue Homes community.
HAWS is one of four housing authorities to win the Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant.
The 244 existing apartments in Cleveland Avenue Homes will be replaced with 406 new units. Once building starts, some current residents will be relocated to offsite replacement units at the former Brown Elementary School. The demolition and rebuilding will occur in phases.
The grant also includes funds for education, workforce development, small business assistance, and neighborhood revitalization. Kevin Cheshire is the executive director of HAWS. He says other area providers have made commitments to bolster these services.
“Because what this grant really focuses on is providing not just the housing infrastructure, but the community infrastructure, and the people infrastructure," says Cheshire. "So that you're not just tearing down housing that's functionally obsolete and building back better housing, but you're trying to build capacity within the community and within the individuals that will be residing in that community.”
This was the authority's fourth attempt at acquiring the funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.