Part of one apartment building at Cleaborn Homes faced a wrecking ball today as the kick-off for a scheduled demolition of the downtown projects.
Only half of this building was left standing on St. Paul Avenue this afternoon as a small crew focused on tearing down the fence around the boarded-up, dilapidated brick apartments.
Families living in the 50-plus-year-old public housing development were relocated last year, after the Memphis Housing Authority provided residents with housing vouchers or found other HOPE VI communities for them.
Once the 460 Cleaborn units are demolished, the land will be redeveloped with 400 new units. Of those, 140 will be public housing, but the rest will be a mix of low-income or market-rate units. Nearby Foote Homes is next on the city’s list for demolition in an effort to rid the city of large-scale public housing projects. The Cleaborn project is funded by a $22 million HOPE VI grant.
