By Mary Hladky
More than four years of effort by the Boca Raton Housing Authority to secure money and approvals to replace the dilapidated Dixie Manor public housing complex reached a major milestone on May 14 when the City Council voted unanimously in favor of authorizing new construction.
Advocates for Dixie Manor, which will become the Residences at Martin Manor, unsuccessfully sought many changes to the plans submitted by the Housing Authority and co-developer Atlantic Pacific Communities. But last-minute negotiations potentially salvaged their efforts to ensure that the history of the existing buildings, dating to 1941, will be preserved.
What form that will take was left up in the air. Newly appointed Housing Authority board member Marie Hester, the longtime president of Developing Interracial Social Change (D.I.S.C.), wanted one of the existing buildings, or at least one apartment, kept to become a museum.
Housing Authority and Atlantic Pacific attorney Ele Zachariades said it is not yet known if a building that old could be preserved, but offered to create an interactive history exhibit in the complex’s community center with the help of the Boca Raton Historical Society.
The compromise reached by the two sides was that a building would be preserved if Atlantic Pacific secures funding for restoration and maintenance. If that fails, Atlantic Pacific and the historical society must find a preservation alternative.
The complex is in Pearl City, founded in 1915, which recently was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The buildings in Dixie Manor were constructed for the families of Black service members serving in the area during World War II.
Historic preservation was a key demand of Hester and other Dixie Manor supporters, and many of its residents also voiced support. But seven residents told council members that getting better housing was paramount and they urged them to approve the project.
“We want better housing conditions for us,” said Dixie Manor resident Erica White. “We want to see the redevelopment. The focus is on us as residents living better.”
Council members rebuffed pleas for an elevator and trash chute in each building because the city code does not require that. Residents and supporters also wanted traffic calming improvements on Dixie Highway and Glades Road, but those are county or state roads and the city has no jurisdiction.
They did agree to add 23 more parking spaces, but that was less than what residents wanted to accommodate themselves and visitors. Two very old and large banyan trees will be preserved.
The council approved construction of the first phase of the project on the north side of the 10-acre property.
About half of the tenants in the complex’s 95 apartments will move into units in the south side, and the rest will be relocated elsewhere with the assistance of a company hired by Atlantic Pacific. The demolished north side buildings will be replaced by three new three-story buildings with the same number of apartments that should be ready for occupancy in about three years. The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development has provided funding.
The second phase will involve the construction of about 100 apartments on the south side, doubling the amount of subsidized housing in the complex. The Housing Authority is now applying for funding. Historic preservation would be included in the second phase.
While everyone agrees Dixie Manor’s buildings must be replaced, mistrust and fear have dogged the project from the start.
Residents worry they will not be allowed to return to the rebuilt complex at a time when other low-cost housing in the city is impossible to find. The Housing Authority insists they can return as long as they continue to meet income thresholds set by HUD.
They have faulted the Housing Authority for poor communication that has left them unsure about what is happening and what their options are. They question whether the authority and Atlantic Pacific have chosen the best method available to rebuild the property.
Residents have pleaded with the City Council to intervene. But council members say they have no authority over the independent Housing Authority and their only role is to appoint authority board members.
Over the past two years, the council has appointed several new board members, including Hester, who they hoped would improve communication and have the trust of residents.
But turmoil continues. Board member Fabiola Bernier, appointed in 2022, resigned in February, citing “the current state or climate of this (housing authority) and its board” which, she said, does not advocate for residents.
Both Bernier and Hester have voiced concerns about the Housing Authority’s new executive director, Ashley Whidby, a longtime employee whom the board elevated to the top position in January following the departure of John Scannell.
Hester said the board illegally appointed Whidby without advertising the position or interviewing candidates. Bernier said the board should have hired a person with experience in redeveloping public housing.
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