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    Two Poindexter Village Buildings to be Preserved

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    The Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) has announced that they will preserve two of the original Poindexter Village buildings. CMHA has already demolished 25 of the 35 original structures, and had held off on deciding what to do with the 10 remaining buildings until after the release of findings from a panel of historic preservation experts. The panel recommended that all 10 buildings be rehabilitated.

    In a press release, CMHA emphasized that saving the two buildings was a response to concerns expressed by the community.

    “It was the public sentiment, sincere interests from the community and their expertise of commemorating our complex that dates back to 1940 that we couldn’t ignore,” said CMHA President and CEO Charles Hillman. “It was a key determinant that we valued and understood to be the right thing to do for Columbus.”

    The decision to only preserve two of the buildings, though, is not likely to please the individuals and neighborhood groups that have opposed the demolition of the properties. They had complained that the historical importance of the complex to the African-American community had not been taken into consideration by the housing authority, which had initially planned to demolish all of the buildings.

    These groups, as well as neighbors and other interested stakeholders, will have another chance this week to weigh in on the future of the Poindexter site, as CMHA is hosting a series of workshops meant to shape a specific development plan for the area.

    That plan will be created with input from McCormack Baron Salazar (MBS), a national developer specializing in the creation of mixed-income neighborhoods. They have worked on a number of similar developments around the country, including recent projects in New Orleans, San Antonio and San Francisco that utilized Choice Neighborhood Implementation Grants. Choice Neighborhoods is a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development program that CMHA is hoping will provide up to $30 million in funding for the Poindexter development.

    Project Manager Julie DeGraaf of MBS says her team is looking forward to the workshops and to involving the community in every step in the development process. She emphasized that MBS brings relevant experience to the project.

    “We have worked on a number of large scale, transformative, and comprehensive community revitalization projects… including Harmony Oaks in New Orleans, Renaissance Place at Grand in St. Louis, MO, Legends Park and University Place in Memphis. All of these involved both the development of new mixed-income housing as well as human capital development led by our non-profit partner, Urban Strategies, in collaboration with local service providers.”

    Workshops are open to the public and will be held Monday, July 22nd through Thursday the 25th at Champion Middle School (284 N. 22nd Street). The first workshop on Monday runs from 6 to 8pm, while team planning sessions will be held from 1 to 5pm on Tuesday and Wednesday. A presentation of the plan with a question and answer session is scheduled for Thursday from 6 to 8pm.

    For more discussion on the Poindexter Village demolition CLICK HERE.

    Photo by Walker Evans.

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    Brent Warrenhttps://columbusunderground.com/author/brent-warren
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