(MURFREESBORO) Past improvements in developing low-income communities have had a strong success record in the Heart of Tennessee. Earlier Mayor Shane McFarland said, “The secret ingredient is instilling pride in their community by residents.”

It seems like it was just the other day that neighborhood workshops dealing with the redevelopment of Oakland Court were taking place, but that was in the Spring of 2019.

A drive-through of the 76-home public housing neighborhood shows families are already settling in the completed homes that are constructed on approximately 20 acres of land that’s located between North Academy and Maney Avenues.

Oakland Court is managed by the Murfreesboro Housing Authority, which is responsible for maintenance and upkeep of the homes, all of which are rented to residents.

The Oakland Court Redevelopment Master Plan is the first in a multi-phase, multi-year process that will also include the redevelopment of Mercury Court and Parkside, two more Murfreesboro public housing neighborhoods.

In Phase II, 74 additional homes will be added for a total of 150 homes at Oakland Court, almost doubling the number of homes available there to qualified families. After these 74 homes are complete, families living in Mercury Court, a public housing neighborhood located on Hancock Street in Murfreesboro, will relocate to new housing at Oakland Court.

Aesthetically, as you drive through the parts of Oakland Court that now have families, you quickly feel the sense of community pride. And during this Thanksgiving week, you see another group of families who are counting their blessings.