Armeca Crawford is the new CEO of the Peoria Housing Authority. She previously worked in Detroit, Michigan as the chief operating officer of Resource Management at the Detroit Housing Commission.
She was initially named to the position in April of 2022.
“I am passionate, I'm deeply passionate about housing,” Crawford said at a news conference Tuesday at the Peoria Public Library Lincoln branch. “I advocate for access to affordable housing, but not just access to affordable housing and the expansion of it, but the preservation of families.”
Crawford said when families are preserved, it increases the quality of neighborhoods and communities, adding that families attract investment and revitalization in communities.
There are three pillars Crawford said she will focus on as the new leader of the PHA: community engagement, resident relations and accountability to the public. As part of this, she hopes to increase the effectiveness of the PHA, starting with small operational measures like a guaranteed call back time of 72 hours or less for requests made to the office.
“That's important in order for us to grow together,” she said. “Just know that we're committed to our residents. We're committed to the community.”
In her new role, Crawford takes the helm on some large development projects at the PHA. Providence Pointe, a reimagining of the former Taft Homes, broke ground just a little under one year ago. Director of Development and Modernization Jordan Sondag said the project is currently on schedule and within budget.
“The current status, I would say, would be roughly 30% done with the first phase of construction, there's two phases,” he said. “Once the first phase is complete, and residents are moved into that phase, then the second phase of construction will start.”
Sondag expects residents to be moving into the first phase building starting around February of 2023, adding the completion of the second phase is estimated for around December of 2024. The demolition and construction project has been partially completed by hiring residents of the Taft Homes, a requirement of the funding behind it.
“We actually partnered up with Illinois Central College and came up with a cohort where residents were allowed to train in the demolition part,” said Carl Cannon, chair of the PHA board of directors. “With a goal that if they go through that, they would also see the construction part and maybe have an interest in continuing that.”
Cannon also is helping to oversee the transition of River West Apartments management to the PHA. He expects it to be completed some time over the next year.
“I’m confident that you’re going to see some capital upgrades,” he said.
All of these projects and pillars brought together under a new leader, Crawford hopes to provide more Peoria families with a place to live. She said her team has applied for additional grants from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to expand family self-sufficiency programs and upgrade and repair some homes owned by the PHA.
She also wants to explore the development of emergency vouchers that can help displaced families find housing in times of crisis. Peoria currently doesn’t have an emergency voucher program.
“Let me hear your feedback,” she said. “We need the support. We want all of you to help us realize our goals for PHA and for our future.”
