The residents of Hill Homes, who are linked as a cooperative, have a chance to present a redevelopment plans for the housing complex.
SPRINGFIELD — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which is considering foreclosure of the Hill Homes housing complex, recently granted a reprieve to give the owners a chance to propose repairs or redevelopment of the tornado-damaged portion of the property.
Under the reprieve, Hill Homes Cooperative, which owns the property on behalf of the residents, will hire a development consultant to help create a strategy for repairs or redevelopment either on site, or at a nearby location, according to residents.
Rhonda Siciliano, a spokeswoman for the New England region of HUD, confirmed this week that the foreclosure action on Hill Homes “has been placed in abeyance.”
“HUD has decided to give the owners a final opportunity to develop a viable plan for completing necessary repairs at the project,” Siciliano said.
A meeting is scheduled Dec. 9 between HUD and the cooperative to assess the progress, Siciliano and residents said.
Hill Homes is a 90-unit, multi-family housing development on two parcels on Hickory and Hancock streets. The tornado of June 1, 2011 struck the houses on Hickory Street in the Old Hill neighborhood, causing serious damage to 26 of the 39 units on that street.
The Western District Housing Court has issued an order permitting demolition of the vacant 26 sites because of their condition and condemnation. That demolition is still pending, and a representative of the property management company said this week it is hoped the demolition will begin as soon as possible.
Rhonda Sherrell, one of the residents who lost her home to tornado damage, said she is optimistic the issues can be resolved to rebuild there or elsewhere. She was able to move to one of the 13 houses not seriously damaged on Hickory Street. The houses on Hancock Street were not in the path of the tornado.
“I don’t want to see any of the residents displaced if the foreclosure was to go through,” Sherrell said. “We are going to work hard to look at all our options to stabilize the cooperative as a whole.”
HUD has spoken directly to residents recently, which has helped to lift their morale, she said.
Residents are concerned that that Hill Homes might be converted to low-income rental units after being owned by the cooperative under a 40-year mortgage from HUD. The mortgage is scheduled to be paid off in July 2015.
HUD has stated previously that the foreclosure was being pursued because conditions of the complex had not met HUD standards for nearly a decade, both before and since the tornado, leading to the right to foreclose.
Springfield College has stated that it has an interest in the Hickory Street site located adjacent to its campus. There is some discussion that a sale to the college could result in the college providing a nearby site for the Hill Homes units.
Sherrell said she is very pleased with the HUD reprieve, but knows the cooperative has much work do to.