Unused housing units in Garapan rotting

About 20 government-built housing units in Garapan have remained unoccupied for years after a planned commercial development in the area flopped.

The vacant units, located at the back of Garapan Elementary School, are now mostly damaged and need immediate repair.

The area, called Annex 2, has a total of 45 housing units. Of these, 10 units are being used by the Public School System for Head Start, Youth Learning Center, and other programs.

A unit is being used by the CNMI Boy Scout, two are reserved for other government agencies, and five units are occupied by families under the agency’s voucher program.

“There are more or less 20 unoccupied units, perhaps less than 20,” said Northern Marianas Housing Corp. officer-in-charge Thomas C. Duenas in an interview yesterday.

Being uninhabited, the location has become a hot spot for criminal acts. Several incidents of burglaries have been reported in the area.

According to Department of Public Safety commissioner Edward Camacho, more frequent patrols within the area may serve as a solid way of tackling the issue, but explained that a community effort would be needed to effectively decrease criminal acts within Annex 2.

“In a lot of things, obviously community assistance is necessary,” he said in an interview yesterday. “Neighborhood watch can be very effective, but the best way is to have the place occupied.”

He said lack of resources hamper the department’s role in patrolling areas at a frequent rate.

“We don’t have enough to do that often,” he said. “What we use to do every six hours, now we do every 12 hours. When we had enough personnel, we do a lot of things every six hours, as far as check spots.”

Among the several cases reported within the area include fight and stabbing incidents, among others.

NMHC’s Duenas said his office has discussed the occupancy issue with the NMHC board and said that plans are now being worked out with other government agencies.

He said there are at least two options for Annex 2: to convert the units into emergency shelters or offer them as rented houses for eligible families under the voucher program.

“But first of all, we need to renovate them,” he said.

Under the voucher program, low-income families can rent commercial housing units and pay a minimum of $25 a month. The rest of the rental is shouldered by NMHC, using funds from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development.

Duenas said that the government had thought of converting the housing area into a commercial site.

“There was a landowner who wanted to develop the area and build a big mall there. This didn’t happen,” he said. “But we have plans for these units now. We’re talking with the Emergency Management Office, Commonwealth Utilities Corp., [and the] Mayor’s Office on what to do with it,” he said.

NMHC program and housing manager Norman K. Pangelinan said that, at the moment, there are 170 families on Saipan getting assistance through the existing voucher program (outside housing), including 50 new families affected by recent typhoons, 50 families on Rota, and about 13 new families on Tinian.

“We check the place and make sure that they comply with the standards. We assess their economic status—their income and expenses, the size of families, then we determine how much they need to share for the monthly rent,” said Pangelinan.

NMHC currently maintains 132 housing units in the CNMI, including the 45 units in MIHA village, 24 in Koblerville, 20 on Tinian, and 30 on Rota.

This disused state of the Annex 2 houses is a somber backdrop against the continuing need for more houses in the Commonwealth. Gov. Juan N. Babauta has recently formed a task force to address the island’s housing needs, with the NMHC reporting more than 300 pending applications for housing loans.

In a letter to all department heads dated May 17, 2004, Babauta said this situation “is unacceptable.”

“To address the housing needs of our community in a more effective and efficient manner, I am hereby creating a housing task force to expediently resolve all pending applications for housing loans,” said the governor.

Appointed to the task force are Mariano Bermudez from the Office of the Governor, Public Works Secretary John S. Reyes, Commonwealth Development Authority executive director Marylou S. Ada, Marianas Public Lands Authority commissioner Henry S. Hofschneider (who is currently suspended from his post), Duenas, and Commonwealth Utilities Corp. executive director Lorraine A. Babauta.

He said the task force is required to submit a weekly progress report to the Office of the Governor “until such time that its goals are achieved and the housing needs of our people are met.”

No comments could be obtained from the task force as of press time.