The city of Huntsville has agreed to demolish the public housing community on Holmes Avenue that has been pegged for closure by the Huntsville Housing Authority.

The HHA announced plans earlier this year to vacate Sparkman Homes because of the poor condition of the facilities.

Residents of Sparkman Homes – where all 166 units were occupied when plans were announced earlier this year -- will receive vouchers or work with a HHA relocation specialist to find new housing, according to HHA. Also, the Boys & Girls Club located on the campus will move to the Calvary Hills Center in the Northwoods public housing community.

The city council voted Thursday night for the city to handle the demolition in exchange for a small lot of land owned by the housing authority at Pelham Avenue and Lowery Boulevard adjacent to the Twickenham development.

City Administrator John Hamilton, in speaking to the council, made clear that the decision to abandon Sparkman Homes was made by the housing authority and not by the city.

The demolishing would not take place for about a year, Hamilton said, and that the housing authority was awaiting final approval from the U.S. Department Housing & Urban Development for the go-ahead to close Sparkman Homes.

“This is not the city or the city council deciding to move residents out of Sparkman Homes,” Hamilton said. “That is purely between those residents, the housing authority and ultimately HUD.”

The cost of the demolition, according to the agreement approved by the council, is projected to be $515,000. In return, the city will receive that sliver of land that appraised for $396,000.

Hamilton said that for the city, there will be the additional benefits of removing the Sparkman Homes buildings after residents are moved out, which if left in place could become a haven for criminal activity. And securing the small piece of land would be useful for private companies expected to soon develop the area.

“It’s good for city and good for the housing authority if we work for them if we have those now-obsolete buildings demolished once they are vacated,” Hamilton said.

“This gives us an opportunity to clean up the frontage on Lowery Boulevard and would facilitate some other development that we know it coming adjacent to that parcel. It doesn’t involve the city but it will be some commercial development we know is coming that will be very good for our community.”