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The Selma Housing Authority alongside The City of Selma and its Planning and Development Department is partnering together to bring change to Selma’s Historic Downtown District.

Selma Housing Authority chief operating officer Cicely Curtis said the SHA is hosting this community meeting to address the concerns and gauge opinions of residents seeking change in the George Washington Carver Gateway Community (GWC).

This meeting will be held Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at Selma High School’s cafeteria will highlight other areas within the downtown district, not only giving GWC residents a chance for change but other community members as well.

Last year in late November, Selma Housing Authority was awarded a $500,000 Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grant through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to redevelop a distressed community.

Selma Housing Authority’s president and CEO  Kennard Randolph looked at the GWC housing community as a place to start.

“Prior to coming to the Selma Housing Authority, GWC has always been an eyesore in the community,” said Randolph. “So, when I came to the Selma Housing Authority, that was one of my first thoughts of, what can we do to revitalize that community?”

The three goals that the Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grant will focus on is housing, people and neighborhood.

Within the housing sector, it is to replace the distressed public and assisted housing with high quality, mixed income housing that is well managed and responsive to the needs of the surrounding community.

Among the people sector, it is to improve the outcome of the household living in the target housing related to income and employment, health and education.

Lastly, in the neighborhood sector, to create the conditions necessary for public and private reinvestment in this distressed neighborhood.

Curtis said the first step to change things within the GWC community and surrounding areas that they are looking at is to bring awareness to residents that the meeting Tuesday is provided for them, their community and to provide an opportunity to sit ‘front and center’ to what’s going to take place and change in their community.

“The main thing is that we want the community to come out and provide their feedback,” Curtis said.

The Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grant will take place in several phases. Currently after the planning phase of the GWC community and the targeted areas in historic downtown Selma, the next phase for The Selma Housing Authority is the implementation phase.

The total transformation process of the areas will go beyond 2026.