Former Asheville mayor joins Housing Authority

ASHEVILLE – As a child who grew up in public housing, former Asheville mayor Terry Bellamy is going back to her roots.

The Housing Authority of the City of Asheville announced Monday that Bellamy would serve as the agency's first neighborhood outreach coordinator / communication specialist.

The local government entity assists more than 6,500 low-income residents with housing. It oversees the management of 1,955 subsidized housing units and administers some 1,600 tenant-based vouchers to assist families in need with private market rentals.

Bellamy, 42, served as the mayor of Asheville from 2005-13. Most recently, she spent five years as the executive director of The Arc of Buncombe County, a nonprofit organization serving children and adults living with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

She also worked at Mountain Housing Opportunities for 10 years. The nonprofit community development corporation is focused on expanding affordable housing in Buncombe County.

"This was an opportunity for me to get back into housing," Bellamy said of her new position. "I really enjoy making sure that people have a home."

As a young girl, Bellamy spent several years in Klondyke Homes, a subsidized housing project near Montford, before her mother was able to purchase the family's first house.

While mayor, one of her proudest moments was helping to create some 3,000 affordable housings units. She was also instrumental in several economic development incentive programs and remains passionate about the stalled redevelopment of Eagle Street.

Even at The Arc, Bellamy said she was focused on finding affordable homes for people living with disabilities. "When a person has a roof over their head and a place to call home, it makes life easier," she said.

Bellamy holds a graduate degree in public affairs from Western Carolina University and is pursuing a doctorate degree in educational leadership from the school. She obtained her bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina Charlotte.

She comes to the position at the Housing Authority with more than 15 years of community outreach, program development and communications experience, said Gene Bell, chief executive officer of the Housing Authority.

Bellamy and Bell have worked together for several years. Bellamy was mayor when Bell took over as chief executive officer at the Housing Authority. Bellamy was not asked by the Housing Authority to apply for the position.

The Housing Authority is an independently governed local agency run by a five-member Board of Commissioners appointed by the mayor.

Several candidates were interviewed for the new position; Bellamy was the most viable hire, Bell said.

"She just has a lot of things that will help us moving forward; we have a lot going on, a lot of changes and expansion and we need to have someone focusing on communication, on bringing information to our residents and the community," Bell added.

The Housing Authority of the City of Asheville recently became one of North Carolina's first to convert most of its public housing to the Housing Choice Voucher program.

The controversial move streamlines and stabilizes funding, but also changes the way residents living in eight of the city's former public housing communities secure and maintain subsidized rent.

Plans are also in the works to transform Lee Walker Heights, the city's only remaining public housing community, into mixed-income housing.

The $23.8 million project in Asheville's South Slope calls for the tempory relocation of the community's 197 residents, demolishing and rebuilding all of its 96 units and doubling the available occupancy at the development. The project has yet to be funded.

Bellamy's former employer, Mountain Housing Opportunities, is the co-developer of the project.

For nearly a year, the Housing Authority's Board of Commissioners has considered creating this position, said David Nash, chief operating officer for the Housing Authority. The job, which pays in the $50,000 a year range, was posted a few months ago. Five applicants were interviewed.

Funding for the position comes out of the central office budget, which supports senior administrative staff, he said.

The Housing Authority operates on an annual budget of around $20 million, the vast majority of which comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Other funding is collected from tenant rents and fees and occasional grants, Nash added.