ABC-7 gets answers to HACEP renovation questions

Affordable housing residents are being displaced for a billion dollar makeover of properties managed by the El Paso Housing Authority.

One resident asked ABC-7 if he’ll be able to return to the same apartment after it’s finished. ABC-7 spoke with the Housing Authority CEO and got the answer.

“There’s rumors floating around and people worry,” said 78 year-old David Hill, who has been living in a public housing apartment on the 10th floor of the Chelsea Community high rise for 15 years.

Hill is bracing for relocation while the Housing Authority does more than a billion dollars in renovations to its properties as part of its Rental Assistance Demonstration, or RAD, program.

“It’s just a lot of change, especially for older people,” said Hill, who approached ABC-7 with several concerns, including whether he can return to the same property after the renovations are complete. “It’s a great neighborhood. It’s close to everything I need.”

ABC-7 took his concerns directly to Housing Authority CEO Gerry Cichon.

“He has an absolute right to return to the Chelsea Community upon completion of the construction,” Cichon said, “by law.”

Hill also wanted to know whether the renovations, with some money coming from private investors, will mean fewer affordable housing options in the future?

“The tenants themselves should not be paying any more rent after construction is done,” Cichon said. “The calculation is exactly the same. Those units will stay affordable for the next 40, 80, 100 years.”

Lastly, Hill wanted to know whether he’ll have to pay utilities or not?

“We’re putting refrigeration air in like we all would like to have right?” Cichon said. “And what we’re going to do, though, is we’re going to say, ‘Listen, the bill is yours. If you’re going to leave the air condition on and the windows open, you’re paying the bill. You get a stipend every year, every month, from the federal government, that pays for what they believe it should be. If you run more than that, it comes out of your pocket, because it’s not fair to have no accountability when it comes to the taxpayer’s cost, the taxpayer’s burden.”

Cichon said six percent of El Paso’s population, about 40,000 people, live with public assistance. He indicated changes are being made because traditional public housing is “a failed business model.”

Cichon added these changes will benefit El Paso taxpayers without misplacing residents permanently.