Each time Nan Mitchell considered moving to Heritage Oaks, a Denton apart­ment complex for low-income seniors, there wasn’t a vacancy.

So she grew suspicious last month when she easily secured a unit.

DRC/Gary Payne

Heritage Oaks resident Oma Hardy, left, speaks Tuesday to Denton Housing Authority representatives about her concerns over the authority’s considering razing and replacing the affordable housing community for seniors. The housing authority board also took a tour of the property, where more than 100 people live.

Only after signing her lease did she discover that the complex’s future is up in the air.

The Denton Housing Authority, an independent public agency that manages Heritage Oaks, is considering tearing down the 28-year-old complex and re­placing it with another affordable housing project.

The agency’s 30-year contract that ensures federal housing assistance for Heritage Oaks expires in June 2009, and leaders must decide by June 1 whether to renew it for at least another year or let it expire. Scrapping the contract would allow redevelopment of the site, which officials say could be cheaper than funding necessary repairs.

Mitchell joined other Heritage Oaks residents who packed a housing authority board meeting at the complex Tuesday after hearing talk of the potential demolition.

“Nobody told me about this discussion” prior to her moving in, said Mitchell, 80, a retired court reporter. “I would have liked to have known so I could have had a knowledgeable choice.”

Board members listened for a half-hour as residents made emotional pleas to save their apartments. They then delayed a decision on renewing the housing authority’s contract with the U.S. Department of Housing and Ur­ban Development until the April board meeting.

Board members did not discuss the ultimate fate of the 140-unit complex, saying it wasn’t on the meeting agenda. In prior meetings, they discussed the possibility of redeveloping the site with a development funded by tax credits. Under that scenario, current tenants would receive housing vouchers to aid their relocation.

“What we are addressing here is the need to have a contract in place,” board chairman Calvin Evans said Tuesday. “We’re not talking at this particular time what it is that we’re going to do with Heritage Oaks itself.”

Some residents left the meeting early in frustration, saying board members weren’t addressing their concerns. Others expressed dissatisfaction after the meeting.

“They didn’t answer any of our questions,” said Shirley Phillips, whose mother, Louise Price, lives at Heritage Oaks. Residents “don’t know any more right now than they did when they came in here, and all they [housing au­thority leaders] are doing is get­ting them upset — and me too.”

Heritage Oaks, at 2501 N. Bell Ave., houses low-income seniors, age 62 and older, who pay rent based on their income.

An independent assessment of the complex last year recommended roughly $1.67 million in improvements, along with more than $100,000 in urgent repairs related to drainage, erosion and foundation problems.

Shirley Hensley, the housing authority’s chief executive officer, said the agency lacks funds to address the needs.

“Right now, the rents are so low that we’re not able to budget anything for maintenance that you would like to see done,” Hensley told residents.

Several residents blamed housing authority leaders for allowing the property to decline.

“I think they have insidiously and purposefully let this place deteriorate for their own financial gain because they are going into private business,” resident Irene Burk said.

Burk pointed to the Phoenix Apartments, a complex in South­east Denton that deteriorated under the housing authority’s management.

The 1970s-era affordable-housing complex was known in its later years for mold, crime and plumbing problems. The complex was razed in 2005 and replaced by Renaissance Courts Town­homes, which Dallas-based Lin­coln Property Co. manages.

The housing authority received nearly $8 million in state tax credits for the Renaissance Courts complex. That allowed the developer, Carleton Residential Prop­erties of Dallas, to offset some federal tax liability in exchange for building reasonably priced rental housing.

Board member Bill Giese acknowledged that the housing au­thority let repairs lag at Her­itage Oaks. He said the reason in­volved the property’s financing sys­tem, where rent income goes into an escrow account.

“We couldn’t get enough money from our escrow account to do some of the regular maintenance that should have been done,” Giese said. “And I don’t argue with you a bit that we neglected in some respects to do that … but we were somewhat handcuffed in that way.”

Most comments Tuesday re­volved around the emotional and physical toll a move would inflict on Heritage Oaks residents.

Mabel Benz, 91, a retired geriatric social worker and longtime Heritage Oaks resident, said many are in poor health and don’t have family to help them move. Others might have trouble securing units in the limited number of rental properties that accept housing vouchers, she said.

“There’s a great big social situation here that needs to be ad­dressed,” Benz said.

LOWELL BROWN can be reached at 940-566-6882. His e-mail address is lmbrown@dentonrc.com .