New London — Local public housing officials have long agreed that deferred maintenance and a lack of funds for improvements were contributing factors in the demise of Thames River Apartments, the troubled low-income high-rises on Crystal Avenue that now stand empty.

The New London Housing Authority is moving to avoid a repeat of that saga at its remaining federally subsidized property, the 99-unit Williams Park Apartments at 127 Hempstead St.

Housing Authority management, under the direction of new Executive Director Kolisha Fiore and management by Imagineers LLC, has taken the initial steps in applying for a switch in the way the complex is funded.

Residents at the complex, elderly and disabled, learned last month that the Housing Authority was intending to apply for a Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) conversion, a voluntary program through the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Exploration of the program, Fiore said, is an attempt to secure an infusion of money to handle major capital improvements and renovations as they come up and raise the quality of life for residents.

RAD Conversion is a relatively new program that HUD describes as a way to access more stable funding by applying for either Section 8 project-based vouchers, or Section 8 project-based rental assistance. The program allows the Housing Authority to borrow money and use low-income housing tax credits and other forms of financing.

HUD spokeswoman Rhonda Siciliano said aging public housing stock is a problem across the country and there is a $26 billion backlog of deferred maintenance.

“The issue is that funding has not kept up with the need,” she said. “The housing stock is getting older and the needs are greater.”

As a result, Siciliano said housing authorities in some cases are forced to take units offline. A RAD conversion “allows the housing authorities to tap into private sector resources to provide financing to improve the housing stock and hopefully give residents better living conditions,” she said.

Fiore addressed a crowd of residents last week to explain the program. The meeting — another is scheduled for Aug. 31 — is a HUD requirement in the RAD conversion application process. She addressed concerns about rent increases and relocation under the new program. Residents also are being asked for feedback for improvements.

Matthew Anderson, director of rentals for Imagineers, and Fiore emphasized the fact that they are in the very early stages of an application and it is one option being explored, and the process would take at least 18 months.

Betsy Gibson, the chairwoman of the Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, said questions remain, and some unfounded fears, about rent increases and relocations.

Housing units permanently stay affordable to the low-income residents, who would continue to pay 30 percent of their income toward rent, according to HUD literature provided to residents. And while most will not see a rent increase, HUD also said that anyone who is paying a flat rent likely will have rent increase over time. HUD guidelines dictate rent amounts.

The only relocations that would occur are when a unit is being rehabilitated, and the relocation would be temporary, Gibson said.

Residents outside the meeting said some of the major complaints included bedbug infestations on multiple floors, a lack of air conditioning in community areas and overall poor on-site security.

Gibson said that under the guidance of Fiore and Imagineers, conditions already have improved at Williams Park Apartments. The complex received a score of 72c from a recent HUD inspection, a marked improvement from a 56c score in 2016.

A Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC) score of 60 or below is referred to HUD’s Departmental Enforcement Center for a possible violation and enforcement action.

“Just because we passed doesn’t mean we quit. We’re going to use the programs the government has put out there for us to use,” Gibson said.

Along with Williams Park, the Housing Authority manages about 208 other units in three state-subsidized properties for elderly and disabled: George Washington Carver Apartments at 202 Colman St., Gordon Court and Riozzi Court.

Gibson said the task for the Housing Authority is to “look at the overall picture” and provide for a better standard of living for residents. The authority last year secured $4.2 million in state funding for 202 Colman St. Plans for renovations have not yet been announced.

To date, HUD reports that RAD has preserved 88,000 affordable-housing units, "stimulating $55 billion in private capital to make critical repairs and needed improvements to distressed public housing units,” Siciliano said in an email.

There have been 160 RAD conversions in Connecticut, 52 in Massachusetts and 11 in Rhode Island, she said.

g.smith@theday.com