Housing

"Housing seems to be a big issue"
- Resident

Housing in Robbins and the surrounding areas was a concern for many people we interviewed, and was a topic discussed at length at the community forum. The two main themes that emerged were the lack of upscale housing, and the overcrowding and safety issues in lower-income housing.

The need to increase upscale housing was closely tied to the desire to attract more professionals, and to draw more industry to the area. As one service provider noted, "if we had some nicer developments, maybe we could attract some higher income people." The people of Robbins are hoping to attract new industry to the area, but without adequate housing options for employees, this will be difficult. There was a general consensus at the forum that unless there is an increase in the housing options, it will be difficult to convince new professionals to move to the town. One community member stated, "people are looking for better opportunities, better jobs, and better housing."

A larger and more immediate concern for most people was the improvement of the five trailer parks and lower-income housing developments in the area. Safety and aesthetics were the top priorities expressed. Currently, there is a large problem with overcrowding. One woman commented, "you can have three to four families living together, two families with six children each, and it's a two bedroom trailer." Another community member mentioned that there are homes with two families sharing limited living space, working opposite shifts. This problem is difficult to ameliorate because there is a lack of low rent housing in the area and a growing number of individuals seeking a place to live.

In addition to overcrowding, much of the housing was considered to be substandard and hazardous. The majority of those interviewed and numerous people at the forum, had witnessed, or heard of, dangerous housing conditions in the town. Details of the reported situations included: houses with "the roof… falling down," residences where, "there was water pouring in the ceiling like a waterfall," and, homes which, "…had a live wire inside the house, with children running around." These problems were attributed to the minimal housing codes in the area, and to the lack of adequate maintenance of rental properties.

Current efforts are being made to improve the quality of housing in Robbins. Recently, a community development block grant was obtained to make improvements to some of the houses on Virginia Avenue. The water and sewer lines were upgraded and a beautification project was implemented. This is an issue that is beginning to be addressed by the local government in small steps. As one resident expressed, "we have a lot of housing problems right now -- the [town board of commissioners] is working on new ordinances such as keeping… property clean."

All community residents felt that for the future, more efforts are obviously needed to improve the quantity and quality of housing. As one resident stated, "we need to invest a little to get some reasonable and safe houses, maybe some high rises or apartment complexes." Suggested solutions included finding non-compliant landowners and convincing them to get their properties up to code, involving the local industries in the hopes that they will be willing to provide some housing for their employees, and increasing the number of low rent options as well as the number of upscale houses. New housing developments will, in turn, create the need to address the issue of access to water and sewer. As Robbins continues to grow, all of these housing concerns will need to be addressed.

Growth of the Hispanic Community

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