 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Jordan Park's becoming home
By WAVENEY ANN MOORE © St. Petersburg Times, published June 20, 2001 ST. PETERSBURG -- "I love it. I love it. I love it," Beatrice Hampton said repeatedly as she showed visitors around her new apartment. The unit, one of 31 planned for the Historic Village in the new Jordan Park housing complex, was the showpiece Tuesday as Mayor Rick Baker and other community leaders gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Mrs. Hampton and her husband, Jake, will move into their two-bedroom, subsidized rental home, with blue carpeting, garbage disposal, dishwasher, washer and dryer, this week. The parents of six children, the Hamptons have lived in Jordan Park for more than three decades and could not imagine being able to enjoy a home with such amenities, Mrs. Hampton said. "We've been married 53 years and we've never been on a honeymoon. This is my honeymoon right here," said Mrs. Hampton, who turned 71 Sunday. "I've never lived in anything like this. Not in my life did I have a dishwasher." Baker praised the new units, with their front porches and tiny lawns. They represent a transformation from the gray, institutional buildings that made up Jordan Park for more than 60 years, the mayor said. "It'll be great for the people who live here and great for the city. . . . So many people worked so hard to make this come to pass."
Mrs. Hampton's apartment is one of more than two-dozen units in the Historic Village's Craftsman-style buildings that are expected to house mostly seniors. About a half-dozen families have moved in so far and more arrive in the next week. The seniors' units are a small phase of the renovation and rebuilding of the historic 25-acre Jordan Park public housing project at 22nd Street and Ninth Avenue S. The sprawling complex had been home to many of the city's African-American families. About 300 of the original residents were relocated to other subsidized housing. The rest of the project will include Craftsman-style and Colonial Revival duplexes, triplexes, a few apartment buildings and several houses. The Jordan Park project has been financed in part with a $27-million federal Hope VI grant. Construction is expected to be complete in the spring of 2003. Parisrice Robinson, Hope VI project manager, a contractor for the St. Petersburg Housing Authority, said Historic Village was first to be funded. The section received its name because it is the only part of Jordan Park that is being renovated. The remainder will be razed. St. Petersburg Housing Authority executive director Darrell J. Irions was pleased Tuesday. "Where do I start?" he asked. "I'm just elated. This has been a long, tough process to get to this point and not just with the distrust of some of the residents and some in the community, but getting the tax credits from Tallahassee. I am just thrilled. I am just happy that the units turned out as well as I thought they would. I am happiest for the (Housing Authority) board. They are just very committed to making this community, the entire city, a better place for everyone to live." Irions said he hopes all of Historic Village will be complete by October or the first part of November. He expects that most of its senior residents will be pleased with their new homes. But there will be exceptions. "There are still a couple who are not enamoured with the modern conveniences," he said. One woman approached him to say exactly that. "She didn't like the wire shelving in the closet," Irions said. Mrs. Hampton has no complaints. Sitting on one of the plump, cushion-filled sofas that housing officials rented for Tuesday's celebration, she joked that she wished the furniture was hers. Just as quickly, she added, "It's going to be gorgeous without the furniture in here. It is gorgeous."
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
From the Times South Pinellas desks |
