Facilities

DEVELOPMENT
The work of the development department at the Housing Authority of the City of Bessemer serves multiple benefits to our residents and community. Foremost, these efforts are driven by the commitment that public housing shall:

• Ensure safe, decent, and affordable housing
• Create opportunities for residents’ self-sufficiency and economic independence; and
• Assure fiscal integrity by all program participants.

Modernization
We are constantly seeking ways to improve today’s quality of life in public housing by assessing functionality of unit interiors. Modernization is a tool to preserve established communities and provide modem updates in such things as updated flooring, cabinetry, and appliances and provides the largest and most economical impact to our many properties, with the least capital expenditure. By incorporating improvements in energy efficiency as well, our residents can benefit from reduced consumption of natural, and personal, resources. We have only recently completed two comprehensive modernization projects that involved several of our communities, and many of our properties have been converted to high efficiency heating systems.

Rehabilitation
When one of our communities became outdated due to its design, and the health of the community had begun to diminish, plans to demolish 80% of the units were organized. The demolition was completed in March 2010, with help from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and work to rehabilitate the remaining units in underway. Larger interior living spaces, fire protection systems, the addition of a covered porch and rooms to house the laundry, heating & cooling equipment, and electrical facilities, improved energy efficiency through new windows, appliances, and insulation that help conserve our natural resources are all components of our rehabilitation improvements for our residents.