Birth of a Community

ANAHEIM — Melinda Carey knew about crime and other problems when she moved four years ago to North Citron Street, but low rents in the neighborhood were all she could afford.

“There were shootings . . . cockroaches, bad carpeting and old plumbing,” Carey, 30, recalled. “It was dirty and it was a place where you never wanted to walk out at night.”

That has all changed. On this Christmas, Carey and her neighbors are thankful for $13 million in improvements that have transformed their crime-ridden apartment complexes, with 176 units, into a gated community--re-christened Paseo Village.

In place of deteriorating cul-de-sacs, there are now greenbelts and playgrounds. About 400 residents recently gathered for a Christmas party in their new community center. A grand opening for the community, geared for low-income families, is set for sometime in January.

“Our purpose is that every single tenant knows each other because if we know each other, we’re going to respect each other and keep an eye on each other,” said Fernando Yela, 45, the resident property manager.

The transformation has been about five years in the making, brought about by a partnership of groups and agencies using public funds set aside for low-income housing needs.

Before, the neighborhood’s 50 apartment buildings were overcrowded and deteriorated, and belonged to 40 different owners, many of them absentee landlords.

Under the revitalization agreement, the city’s Housing Authority, which bought the land, leases it to The Related Companies of California in Irvine. The Irvine group and the nonprofit Orange Housing Development Corp. own the apartment buildings. Related Management Co. is the community manager.

With land and renovation expenses, the project cost about $24 million: a combination of federal grants, city housing redevelopment funds and some private monies.

By June, crews had completed renovations to 87 apartments; another 89 apartments opened this month. There are 156 apartments, with one, two or three bedrooms, now rented. Tenants will move into the remaining 20 apartments by Jan. 15.

Because of the public funds involved, there are rent and income restrictions. Household incomes cannot exceed 60% of the county’s median income, Yela said. For a family of four in a two-bedroom apartment, that means an income between $22,242 and $37,920 annually. Rents range from about $505 a month for a one-bedroom apartment to $730 for a three-bedroom.

About 40% of the neighborhood’s original tenants have moved back. Others are on a long waiting list, Yela said.

Those who have returned say they now feel safe: gone are the neighborhood gangs, the late-night gunfire, prostitutes and drug dealers.

“Now, it feels like you’re not in a bad neighborhood,” said Carey’s mother, Pat Sachse, 55, who moved into a one-bedroom apartment in August. “It just feels cozy. This is like community living. You’re not afraid to say ‘hi’ to a neighbor, and people are not afraid to walk outside their homes.”

Carey, who lives with two of her children in a two-bedroom apartment, agreed: “It’s so nice,” she said about her home, with its new carpeting, appliances and freshly painted walls. “Everybody is really friendly here, and they have play areas for the kids.”

There are plenty of other attractions, including a fitness room, computers for children and a larger, remodeled swimming pool. On Saturdays, free movies for children are shown in the community center. By the end of January, the local Boys &Girls; Club will open an after-school program in the neighborhood.

“The goal was to create a full-service community--not only to improve the physical conditions, but also to provide support services and a better environment,” said Bill Witte, a partner of Related Companies.

To make the neighborhood’s new identity more complete, city officials will rename the stretch of North Citron Street that runs through the community to Village Way.

For Inez Negrete, another resident who moved back after the improvements, the dramatic changes mean she is no longer afraid to be outside after dark.

Said Negrete on a recent evening as she sat watching her 3-year-old son, Oscar, playing on a slide: “Now it’s very beautiful, very calm and there’s everything here for the kids.”

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NEIGHBORHOODS / Paseo Village Apartments

Bounded by: North Citron Street (soon-to-be-renamed Village Way), La Palma Avenue on the south, Harbor Boulevard on the east and Romneya Drive on the north

Population: About 550; 156 units are occupied and the remaining 20 will be by Jan. 15.

Hot topic: Transforming a former gang and high-crime area into a gated community