Seniors to be moved before sale of apartments

Steve Sebelius

Tuesday, Nov. 26, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

Senior apartments owned by the Las Vegas Housing Authority will be put up for sale, but residents will be moved before they lose their homes.

The housing authority board approved a plan Monday that will use the sale of vacant land and empty housing complexes and Section 8 funds to raise about $2.7 million. In addition, the authority plans to sell off the James Jones Gardens, Robert Gordon Plaza, Sartini Plaza Annex and the Rulon Earl mobile home park for an additional $3.8 million.

Audits conducted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development found that past housing authority administrations misspent about $7.2 million in funds designated for subsidized homes on senior housing. HUD has demanded that the authority repay the money.

Under the plan approved Monday, two real estate firms -- Dunn Properties and Realty Executives -- will market land and buildings owned by the authority to raise money to repay the misspent funds. However, under the agreement, seniors will be moved from the complexes before the buildings are sold, said Fred Brown, executive director of the authority. The relocation will start with James Jones Gardens.

Joe Rychic, president of the residents' council at Robert Gordon Plaza, said the plan approved Monday was better than previous versions, which didn't provide for seniors to get new homes before losing their old ones.

"It doesn't hurt us," Rychic said. However, he said, it may not be necessary to sell the property at all if Nevada's congressional delegation succeeds in convincing HUD to accept less than the full $7.2 million to satisfy the debt.

Rep. John Ensign, R-Nev., told a gathering of seniors last month that he would work to get HUD to take a lesser amount, or force the agency to do so through an act of Congress.

Under the authority-approved plan, the Madison Terrace and Rayson Manor apartments would be sold, in addition to three parcels of vacant land at Maryland Parkway and 13th Street, Sandhill Road and Owens Avenue and off 11th Street. In addition, the authority plans on using $100,000 of its Section 8 reserves (leaving $560,000 in the reserve), and city funds, to pay $2.7 million of the debt.

Meanwhile, the authority would negotiate with HUD and Nevada's congressional delegation on how much of the rest of the money would have to be repaid. HUD officials have said they expect the authority to show good faith in paying back at least some of the debt.