HUD bulldozes homes in the Bay

In a frantic race against bulldozers, residents scrambled to save what little they could last week, before several city blocks of government housing was demolished. In all, 36 families occupied the homes that were destroyed, just days after the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development deemed the buildings unsafe.

"HUD recommended that the buildings be torn down, because of the water damage and mold inside," said Demetria Crumbly, director of the Bay Housing Authority. While Crumbly pointed to water damage as a reason for HUD's recommendation, the water at Magnolia Homes rose less than a foot, according to satellite photos from N-Vision, a geographic information firm, mapping the flood areas for the county. A spokesman at the Hancock EOC told the Sun Herald the area appeared to have had a "minimal amount" of water.

Some residents say the hurricane gave housing officials a convenient excuse to get rid of the aging buildings. "We were looking at demolishing the buildings in the future, but after Katrina, we had to speed up the process," Crumbly said. "The units were bad before, but now there's just no way we could've allowed people to live in those conditions." "It would cost a lot more to fix them, than to just tear them down, and start over," she said. However, she could not say for certain whether (the homes) would ever be rebuilt.

Posted on Mon, Oct. 17, 2005
HUD bulldozes homes in the Bay
By RYAN LaFONTAINE
rlafontaine@sunherald.com

BAY ST. LOUIS - In a frantic race against bulldozers, residents scrambled to save what little they could last week, before several city blocks of government housing was demolished.

In all, 36 families occupied the homes that were destroyed, just days after the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development deemed the buildings unsafe.

"HUD recommended that the buildings be torn down, because of the water damage and mold inside," said Demetria Crumbly, director of the Bay Housing Authority.

The authority and HUD knocked down all of Bay Oaks on Ballentine Street, and Magnolia Homes on Washington Street, leaving only a few broken cinderblocks and pebbles.

Before Hurricane Katrina, the two subdivisions were 100 percent occupied.

Crumbly said the living conditions inside the units were not safe, and because FEMA will pay for the work only until Oct. 27, the bulldozers had to move fast.

While Crumbly pointed to water damage as a reason for HUD's recommendation, the water at Magnolia Homes rose less than a foot, according to satellite photos from N-Vision, a geographic information firm, mapping the flood areas for the county.

A spokesman at the Hancock EOC told the Sun Herald the area appeared to have had a "minimal amount" of water.

Some residents say the hurricane gave housing officials a convenient excuse to get rid of the aging buildings.

"We were looking at demolishing the buildings in the future, but after Katrina, we had to speed up the process," Crumbly said. "The units were bad before, but now there's just no way we could've allowed people to live in those conditions."

The subdivisions were built in the 1950s, and Crumbly said the authority had been dumping money into the units for decades, just barely able to keep them open.

"It would cost a lot more to fix them, than to just tear them down, and start over," she said.

The Bay Authority is working to form a partnership with other government agencies, hoping to develop what Crumbly called "creative efforts to rebuild the units."

However, she could not say for certain whether Magnolia and Bay Oaks would ever be rebuilt.

"Right now, HUD is trying to graduate from public housing to affordable housing," she said. "My personal thought is housing is more critical now than it ever was, so I hope something can be done."

Crumbly said the families who lived in the units were offered alternative housing in other cities. The Bay Authority and HUD located available units and placed most of the families in towns in north Mississippi.

"We desperately tried to get the residents to work with us, and get their belongings out of the units, but not everyone is happy with what's going on," she said. "We have put things in storage containers to save for them, and we took photos and inventory of each of the units."

Residents in the city's only remaining government housing complex, Bay Pines, will be able to return to their homes in about six months, after workers complete a project to restore the units.

Rubble that was Magnolia Homes is all that remains of the public housing facility in Bay St. Louis.


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