‘Actual action;’ Housing agency gets multi-million dollar grant to help with DeSoto Bass development

WHIO Staff
·2 min read

Greater Dayton Premier Management (GDPM) has secured a second multi-million dollar grant to change the vision of Dayton’s largest and oldest public housing complex, DeSoto Bass.

The leaders of the GDPM said that because of the two grants they’ve won, they’re prepared to change the face of public housing in Montgomery County, especially as it relates to DeSoto Bass Courts.

“This is not just talk anymore, this is actual action,” Jennifer Heapy, GDPM Executive Director, said.

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Heapy told News Center 7′s Mike Campbell that she’s excited that the plans call for everyone living here to have a new home in the next 10-15 years.

“I think it’s important that the individuals both there at DeSoto Bass and within in West Dayton see the actual, physical changes that are occurring in their community,” she said.

Change like that is happening already in areas like Germantown Avenue and Paul Lawrence Dunbar Street where the former site of Daymont West is being cleared to make way for the Germantown Crossing. Artist conceptions showed the idea for the 50-plus new townhomes there that current residents at DeSoto Bass will move into.

That project is two blocks from DeSoto Bass. Many of the current buildings there were built in the 1930′s and 1940′s and are out of date.

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As new homes in the area are built and residents are moved, old ones will be demolished. It could lead to private redevelopment in the area, but that won’t threaten residents’ ability to afford these new homes.

“Because we’re the public housing authority and we’re creating new housing, it will always be affordable,” Heapy said.

She also said that with moving 50 units off-site and the large amount of land that is there, the new housing will be more spread out and provide greenspace for the community.