The city has received an $850,000 Community Development Block Grant for the renovation of the Vine Street community off U.S. Highway 158.

“It’s really a comprehensive approach to that area,” Tillman Long, director of the Roanoke Rapids Housing Authority said during city council’s work session tonight.

City Planning and Development Director Amanda Jarratt told council the entire project should take approximately 18 months to complete but environmental reviews and other paperwork on the grant will mean it will be four to six months before “that hard work takes place.”

There are 19 housing structures on Vine Street, according to a copy of the application, which was submitted in 2008.

Six units in the area are dilapidated and cannot be cost-effectively repaired, the application said. Five of the units will be acquired and cleared for subsequent redevelopment by the housing authority and Choanoke Area Development Authority.

Debris and abandoned vehicles will be removed and three low-income tenants will be displaced but will be helped through rental assistance and moving expenses.

There are 13 units on Piland, Andrew and Taft streets which have moderate water needs.

Jarratt said matching funds will be provided by the housing authority, CADA and the Roanoke Rapids Sanitary District. The sanitary district will provide $18,500, the housing authority $65,000 and CADA will provide weather proofing funds of up to $3,900 per unit.

“I’m pleased to see it come along this far,” Councilman Carl Ferebee said during the meeting.

Mayor Emery Doughtie said because the grant was applied for in  2008, “We owe appreciation to the previous council. We’d like to thank them for the work they’ve done. This is a good example of different departments and public utilities coming together for the good of everybody.”