Landsman Gardens is slated to relocate its residents and demolish the site.

“No person will be displaced or not have a place to go,” said John Hill, executive director of the Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority.

Many residents of Landsman Gardens, 750 N. Major Ave. , said they have felt it is the information that has been displaced.

The housing authority conducted one meeting on the relocation plan in mid-
November, but only about 30 families attended, Hill said .

Resident Andrea Romero said she couldn’t attend because of illness.

“I would have made myself get up if I knew this is what they were talking about,” Romero said. “You would think the residents would have some type of input, but I feel we don’t. I feel we are in the dark.”

Hill said it was revealed at the meeting that the housing authority had intended to modernize the units and offer new appliances and paint.

“We did an inspection about a month and a half ago to determine what needed to be done,” Hill said.

Hill said more costly problems were discovered, such as sprinklers, which are only a few feet away from the apartment walls, which were eroding parts of the stucco walls. This could lead to mold inside the apartments.

“We just want to make sure the residents are living in a safe and healthy environment,” Hill said.

Hill said it is more costly to repair the units than it is to relocate the tenants.

Hill said if the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development signs off on the proposal, the development might be demolished sometime in 2012. Afterward, Hill hopes it eventually would be rebuilt.

Many residents like Romero who have been unable to attend meetings have relied only on rumors of what could happen.

“My son heard this place would be demolished by February,” Romero said. “They could at least send a letter explaining everything so we aren’t kept in the dark.”

Hill said the housing authority plans to have meetings informing the residents every few weeks.

Hill said another meeting was scheduled for Dec 8, and that a flier was sent door to door to inform residents.

Romero originally thought the news about relocation was a blessing in disguise since it would allow her to move away after her son was physically attacked near his home by other youths in October,

“Then I really thought about it,” Romero said. “What if I don’t make the qualifications to receive S ection 8 housing again?”

Romero, a single mother of five, has been a resident of Landsman Gardens for almost seven years after waiting three years to get low-income housing big enough to hold her family. Her current apartment is one of a few with five bedrooms.

Romero is unemployed and needs to remain in Section 8 housing big enough for her family.

“What if I can’t keep up the payments of the new place?” Romero said. “What if I can’t sustain this move?”

Hill said the housing authority has submitted applications to HUD to receive funding for the move.

If HUD gives the go-ahead, Hill said every resident is expected to have their move paid for, which would include anything from moving supplies and boxes to reconnecting utilities such as Internet and telephone.

“But that could be anywhere from two to four months before we find out,” Hill said.

If HUD doesn’t provide funding, the housing authority can still provide assistance and housing to residents even if they don’t meet S ection 8 requirements.

“Regardless, we are clearing the site,” Hill said.

It’s not just moving from Landsman that worries Romero. It is moving out of Henderson that terrifies her.

“I just don’t want to go anywhere,” Romero said.

On top of that, Romero is worried that she will have to uproot her children from their schools.

Hill said residents should have three options of where to move .

“If they don’t like the first option, there is another,” Hill said.

But the third option would be final, Hill said.

When the residents leave Landsman, their children also will be losing the Landsman Learning Center, operated by Club Christ Ministries . The center, which is in Landsman Gardens, offers tutoring, literacy programs and mentoring.

According the Kendra Dyson, the center’s director, the program serves about 90 children, and about 60 to 65 children come to the center weekly. All the children except three families live within Landsman Gardens.

“We saw a need in this neighborhood, so we contacted the housing authority,” Dyson said.

The center has a computer lab and reading area and volunteers who work with the children to assess how to help them grow in their education.

“And it’s literally in their backyard,” Dyson said.

Dyson said having the center so close to home allows the volunteers to check on children and ask parents questions, keeping them up to date with completed homework assignments or their child’s progress.

The learning center also has activities from dance and Girl Scouts to B ible study and community service activities for junior high children.

“It was a big shock to hear that the center might be demolished,” Dyson said.

Dyson said it was more detrimental that the children they have worked with since the center opened three years ago might have to forgo the center’s benefits.

“Other housing authority campuses have resources,” Dyson said. “But not all are geared to kids.”

Dyson said the center also is looking at where it would move.

“If the doors open up, we are committed to staying in Henderson,” Dyson said. “We get free rent at Landsman Gardens and pay for our utilities. Hopefully, we can find something similar so we can keep our overhead down.”

Club Christ Ministries operates another learning center in North Las Vegas, which could be an option for those children who might be relocated nearby .

Hill said a table was slated to be set up on site to help residents with the relocation process starting Dec. 12.

Contact Henderson/Anthem View reporter Michael Lyle at mlyle@viewnews.com or 387-5201.