The work under way at the Roanoke Redevelopment and Housing Authority to beautify its properties and bring down crime rates isn't the first time the agency or police have addressed those issues.

Just 10 years ago the housing authority was in the beginning stages of a total renovation of Lincoln Terrace. And years before that, the police department started using its Community Oriented Police Effort to address the crime problems at the same Northwest Roanoke development.

Lincoln Terrace had become well-known for its crime. It was the focus of drug investigations and the setting of half a dozen homicides, and it was reportedly home to a gang. At one point in the 1990s, residents described the area as an open-air crack market.

The police department addressed the problems with its COPE unit.

Several officers were assigned to the area and became familiar with the residents and the problems in the community.

Within four months, police saw a 56 percent reduction in calls for service at the development. Police soon started using COPE units at other public housing sites.

Then, in 1996, the housing authority unveiled plans for "Lincoln 2000," a plan for a total renovation of Lincoln Terrace, one of its oldest and largest properties.

A steering committee that worked on the plan said Lincoln Terrace had too much open space that invited crime, was too isolated from the surrounding neighborhood and lacked a sense of community.

The plan reduced the number of units and transformed the development from large complexes to single-family houses and duplexes with gated back yards.

The $44 million project was funded through a federal grant and money from the city.

Along with the new construction came a new name, Villages at Lincoln, and new requirements for tenants.

No longer would they be allowed to stay as long as they wanted. Residents have just five years to get off assistance.

They are required to meet with self-sufficiency counselors who help them set goals to become independent. Some may want to get their GED, for instance. Others may be saving to buy a house.

The housing authority offers classes and training to help residents achieve their goals. There are other sessions on home ownership, and job and computer training.

Child care and transportation are also available to make it easier for tenants to work.

The self-sufficiency program and classes are open to all residents in public housing, but only residents at Villages at Lincoln are required to participate. The elderly and disabled are exempt.

By integrating social service programs, the housing authority hopes to help residents overcome the problems that have put them in public housing, said Briggitt Harris, housing operations director.

"It's amazing how much it could change a family's life," she said.