Wed., Mar 3, 2004

Editorial:  Solutions hard, not impossible

People interested in the future of the Phenix City property occupied for the last 50 years by Riverview Apartments -- and that's a lot of people -- can be divided into two groups: those who live there and those who don't.

To the latter, Riverview is a human necessity, but also a prominent eyesore that defines the profile of the whole western riverfront. Most of all, it's the major obstacle to developing and enhancing one of the most valuable and attractive pieces of real estate in the bi-cities area. If progress is the proverbial unstoppable force, Riverview seems for the moment to be the immovable object that has stopped it.

To the former, it is home. Whatever visions others may have of what that property might someday be, the here and now reality of Riverview is that it is a decent place to live, run by people who work to keep it that way, for people who don't have a lot of options. Some are willing to consider change and some fear it, but the issue for them is a lot more immediate than a vision of what might be 10 years hence.

Clearly, the only way to break the stalemate is through some solution that works for everybody. Maybe there was some progress toward such a solution last week when a local organization, the East Alabama Riverfront Development group, coordinated with a private consulting firm to take Riverfront residents and Housing Authority officials on a tour of some Atlanta developments where dramatic change has taken place.

The trend toward mixed public-private developments, where families on rent assistance share the same complex with others paying market rates and it's all confidential, has shown success not only in removing the "project" stigma but also in improving the image and quality of life of the whole area. The mixed-use concept is one of the ideas driving the redevelopment of the Peabody Apartments in Columbus.

The hitch is that most of those model developments, like Centennial Place in Atlanta, are new; they were built from the ground up. In Phenix City, Housing Authority Director Chuck Roberts, who has devoted a long and honorable career to public housing and the people it serves, is in the middle of a $4 million renovation of 16 buildings at Riverview and doesn't like to "throw away" that kind of money.

Point taken. But sooner or later the law of diminishing returns kicks in. Maybe there are better ways -- for everybody concerned -- to spend money than refurbishing old buildings and slapping today's paint on yesterday's approaches.

All these people need to keep talking, and listening, and thinking with open minds.

-- Dusty Nix, for the editorial board