CRAVEN COUNTY, N.C. -- The New Bern Housing Authority is moving forward with plans to demolish units at its Trent Court development.
- Housing Authority officials had plans to demolish Trent Court and build a new 80-unit complex off Carolina Avenue since before Hurricane Florence.
- After the storm damaged 108 of Trent Court's 218 units, more than 100 residents are displaced.
- The housing authority will have vouchers for every displaced resident on January 14.
Housing Authority officials had plans to demolish Trent Court and build a new 80-unit complex off Carolina Avenue since before Hurricane Florence.
After the storm damaged 108 of Trent Court's 218 units, more than 100 residents are displaced.
The housing authority asks residents to not return to their damaged homes, but some are still choosing to stay, whether by choice or because they have nowhere else to go.
Vonquita Hardesty has lived in Trent Court for two years and says she has been staying with friends and family intermittently, but comes home once in a while to get away.
"People still want their personal space and the type of person I am, I'm going to give somebody their space, you feel me? I don't want to just be staying with somebody, but I feel like it's still my home so I can come back here," said Hardesty.
Her two-story apartment is only livable on the second floor. The first floor is gutted, with no appliances.
The housing authority will have vouchers for every displaced resident on January 14, and Hardesty says once she has her voucher she plans to move out of New Bern.
On January 18, the housing authority's developer will submit an application for an Affordable Housing tax credit to help finance their $8-12 million plans for the new complex.
Housing Authority executive director Martin Blaney says once they have the funding, they will move forward with purchasing the 8-acre plot of land from the city for $200,000.