The Chester Housing Authority (CHA) was chartered in 1937. Today it owns and operates or co-manages six housing developments, serving approximately 1,000 families and senior citizens. The CHA also assists another 1,600 families through its administration of its Housing Choice Voucher Program; approximately 500 owners have invested in that program.
The first developments were built in the 1940s to house workers of the City's wartime industry boom. Through the ensuing decades, corruption and mismanagement led to the CHA's designation by the
US Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) as a "troubled" agency.
By 1991, HUD found the CHA in substantial breach of its Annual Contributions Contract. As a result, the City and CHA Board of Commissioners voluntarily relinquished control to HUD with the hope that direct HUD control could help rebuild the CHA. This failed to happen and, consequently, in the early 1990s, Residents filed a class action lawsuit against the CHA asserting "constructive abandonment." The Honorable Norma L. Shapiro of the US District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania appointed Robert C. Rosenberg as Receiver of the CHA, to report directly to the Court. He assumed control on August 31, 1994.
The CHA began to turn the corner immediately. A security force was created to take the streets back from the criminals who had made them unsafe for children. This armed force eventually gained full arrest powers (in 2000) as these men and women became a fully certified police department.
The Receiver recruited and hired qualified and enthusiastic personnel; as a result, operations improved at a staggering pace. By 1997, the CHA had come off HUD's troubled list for the first time, achieving "standard performer" status. The Receiver also revitalized two major projects, which initiated the rebuilding of the four family developments. The Ruth L. Bennett Homes and the William Penn Homes were then completed in 1998 and 1999, respectively.
The awarding of two HOPE VI grants to the CHA also spurred its rebirth. These awards of $15 million to rebuild the old Lamokin Village (renamed Chatham Estates) and $9.7 million for the old McCaffery
Village (renamed Wellington Ridge) enabled the demolition of crumbling old buildings, paving the way
for modern family housing. The One Stop Shop opened in 1998 providing Residents entrepreneurial opportunities through training and mentoring. Chatham Senior Village opened in 2000, Chatham Estates in 2002 and Wellington Ridge in 2003. The Shops at Wellington Ridge, a planned retail center to include a first class supermarket as its anchor, remains a work in progress. Its eventual development,
will complement the new housing completed in that part of Chester as well as new development slated for the neighboring Highland Gardens.
By 2003, the CHA had come full circle and earned "High Performer" status from HUD; this pioneered the formation of the first CHA oversight board composed of Chester citizens. The group underwent formal training, held periodic meetings and conducted a national search for an Executive Director. That process concluded in 2005 with the announcement that Steven A. Fischer would assume this position.
In April of 2005, Widener University served as the setting where Judge Shapiro honored Mr. Rosenberg for his decade of accomplishment and welcomed Mr. Fischer before a large gathering of Chester area officials.
The next year was one of review of the progress of the Receivership, reassessment of all aspects
of day-to-day operations and how they would be modified in light of funding realities in Washington.
The success of the Receivership has instilled in the CHA a belief that it can overcome any daunting challenges that may lie ahead. To do so, it must join hands firmly with its residents and march forward with solid, business-like plans.
