MARIN CITY, California – Residents of Golden Gate Village met Monday evening to discuss a federal lawsuit they filed to address their deplorable housing situation and to react to the Marin Housing Authority’s plan to completely renovate their hamlet neighboring Sausalito.
Complete renovation plans
What we know:
The Marin Housing Authority says it will remake Golden Gate Village, built in the late 1950s and now in poor condition, by rehabilitating, not bulldozing.
“We’re trying to restore the property back to what it looked like when it was built,” said Marin Housing Authority Executive Director Kimberly Carroll.
Marin City housed 6,000 workers, many African-Americans who built World War II ships back then. Many workers remained.
Carroll acknowledged the housing complex’s historic background. “It’s a historic district,” she said.
Non-profit housing developer Burbank Housing, with its 40-year-plus history, will remake it inside and out starting with new water, electrical and sewer lines.
“A lot of the work that is being done architecturally is to maintain that historical architecture feature from Frank Lloyd Wright,” said Riley Weissenborn, the Burbank Housing Senior Project Manager.
“All the units will have new appliances, new cabinetry, new washers, we’ll be putting washers and dryers in the unit,” said Carroll.
The promised result? “It’s gonna look like a brand-new unit after we’re done with it,” said Weissenborn.
Current residents will return after three to four month restorations of their units; the first 88 of almost 300 units go into rehab next year.
Community skepticism
The other side:
Marin Housing and Burbank Housing have a detailed plan, and the folks seem sincere enough. But, come here to Golden Gate Village and you’re gonna find out that they have a lot of convincing to do.
Terry Thompson was born in Marin City 75 years ago. “I’ve seen it happen over and over again, where they let us come in to help out, do some job for them and then, after the job is over, get the hell out of here.”
Other residents agreed.
“They come in and they have these really good claims and a year or two later, we of color can no longer afford to stay,” said resident Beverly Freeman.
“We have rights that they’re just steam rolling over. Anything that they do, it will force us out of the county and that’s their plan,” said resident Royce McLemore.
According to the Housing Authority, the average tenant’s income is just $14,000 a year. no one will have to pay more that 30% of their income in rent.
