Before Legacy Ridge stood on Saunders Place the land belonged to the Housing Authority of the City of High Point, a place its CEO, Angela Jimenez, knew well. As she revisited the site years later, she was standing where the Daniel Brooks Homes once stood.
Built in 1942, the aging development had long reached the end of its useful life, and by 2018, HPHA, Laurel Street, and the City of High Point had started planning its transformation. The next year, the City approved $6.5 million in housing bonds, followed by more than $28.3 million in financing.
As the buildings were cleared, HPHA staff walked alongside every household, offering relocation assistance to ensure families had a smooth transition into the new community. That community became Legacy Ridge, a mixed-income neighborhood of 100 multifamily homes with a clubhouse, green space, playground, and covered picnic area.
When former residents returned to see it, Jimenez felt what she still describes as a moment of pride for her community.
“Watching former residents come back to see a place once marked by hardship transformed into a thriving, mixed-income community — that’s the definition of continuing the legacy of the original Daniel Brooks Homes community sentiment,” she said.
For Jimenez, the moment also carried personal significance. She had grown up in Public Housing not far from where she now stood.
In 2010, she returned to HPHA as its Chief Executive Officer after serving at the Rockingham Housing Authority, becoming the agency’s first female CEO since its founding. Today, she is leading HPHA into a future where housing is not simply shelter, but a starting point for stability, opportunity, and upward mobility.
Building Foundations for Families Across Generations
The Housing Authority of the City of High Point was chartered in 1940 as a nonprofit corporation to provide decent, safe, and sanitary housing for low-income families, seniors, and people with disabilities. Today it oversees 900 Public Housing units, 1,872 Housing Choice Vouchers, 101 Section 8 New Construction units, and 21 Permanent Supportive Housing assisted households .
Families can get involved with HPHA’s programs in a variety of ways. Some come through Public Housing, where unit sizes range from one to five bedrooms and apartment styles vary from garden apartments to townhomes to high-rise units for elderly and disabled households.
Others enter through the Housing Choice Voucher Program. HPHA administers 1,872 vouchers funded by HUD and regularly maintains waitlists, inspections, rent reasonableness reviews, and income-based eligibility checks. Families generally pay between 30-40 percent of their adjusted income toward housing costs.
Beyond providing housing, HPHA leads major investments in capital improvements, supportive services for seniors and residents with disabilities, and community-building initiatives such as made possible by the HOPE VI Program.
The HOPE VI revitalization brought Spring Brook Meadows to life, adding 44 onsite senior units and 118 single-family homes, along with amenities including a YMCA, wellness center, day care center, soccer and baseball fields, and a first-tee golf course.
Years later, HPHA partnered with Laurel Street to redevelop the former Clara Cox Homes into 250-unit development now known as Park Terrace Apartments, which was completed in three phases.
From Public Housing Resident to CEO
Before Angela Jimenez, City of High Point Housing Authority CEO, stepped into her career in public service and housing, she was gaining experience through higher education and military service. She graduated from high school in Gainesville, Florida, completed a certification at Brookstone College, and then served in the United States Army before attending High Point University.
There, she earned both her Bachelor of Science and Master of Business Administration degrees. In 2003, she joined HPHA and served in several capacities before becoming Chief Operating Officer. Later, she accepted the Executive Director position at the Rockingham Housing Authority and then returned to High Point in November 2010 to serve as HPHA’s CEO.
Over the years, she’s earned certifications in HUD Public Housing and Housing Choice Voucher Programs, tax credit compliance, mixed finance, homeownership counseling and education, assisted housing management, real estate licensure, property management designations, workforce development, certified notary, HUD Certified Housing Counselor, realtor and so much more.
Jimenez has served on commissions and boards throughout the region, including City of High Point Human Relations Commission, the YMCA of Greater High Point, and many more.
Her expertise is extensive, but it’s her upbringing in Public Housing that sets her apart, giving her a perspective that no course can offer. She knows firsthand how residents are viewed and what support they need to succeed.
“Growing up in Public Housing taught me not just what it means to need support, but what it feels like to be overlooked or overjudged due to life’s circumstances,” she said. “That experience drives everything I do, from how we shape policies to how we engage with participantss.”
She leads with empathy, working to create systemic changes that put people first and help level the playing field.
Pathways to Stability, Skills, and Self-Sufficiency
Many of HPHA’s programs are designed to help participantss build long-term stability in their lives. The Family Self-Sufficiency Program pairs families with caseworkers who help them set goals in areas like improving credit, finding new jobs, advancing in their careers, purchasing homes and transitioning to the private market.
As their income increases, HPHA deposits part of the family’s rent increase into an escrow account they can use later for a car, a home, or other necessities. Workforce development courses are also supported through the City of High Point’s Community Development Block Grant.
The Upward Mobility Program provides participantss with resources like job readiness training, credit repair workshops, homeownership counseling, and savings opportunities.
Through the Housing Choice Voucher Homeownership Program, eligible first-time homebuyers can apply their voucher toward a monthly mortgage. Participants must earn at least $17,000 annually, contribute at least $1,000 toward the down payment, and complete counseling in areas like budgeting and credit.
As part of HPHA’s youth programming, the agency provides tutoring, art programs, summer enrichment, financial literacy, summer youth academy, summer agriculture programs and a , Big Chair Chess club.
Tackling the Toughest Challenges in Public Housing
HPHA has faced major challenges over the years. The COVID-19 pandemic placed significant pressure on the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program. Affordable housing inventory declined, rents rose beyond the reach of many voucher holders, and landlords left the program.
In response, HPHA issued more than 400 vouchers, absorbing all portables from other agencies and conducting extensive outreach to bring new property owners into the program. The agency also received a HUD waiver that gave families more time to secure housing.
With help from the City of High Point, HPHA launched a Section 8 Landlord Incentive funded through a combined $40,000 grant and agency resources. The incentive attracted 176 new landlords and added 550 units to the program, helping stabilize families as the market shifted.
When a crisis arises, HPHA responds with a focus on communication, seeking to keep participantss informed and to minimize misinformation.
“The HPHA supports our team and program participants in maintaining resilience during difficult times by fostering hope, developing support systems, and promoting trust and open communication,” the agency said.
The Power of a Place to Call Home
Public Housing has long been misunderstood, and Angela Jimenez often talks about the need to replace outdated assumptions with the truth she has lived and witnessed. To her, Public Housing is not a last stop, but a starting point where stability allows families to pursue education, work, and other long-term goals.
She likes to imagine the agency as the kind of friend who encourages you to keep going, one with the energy of the fire emoji and the spirit of a song like “Rise Up” by Andra Day.
When Jimenez pictures her younger self on her first day at HPHA, she sees someone hopeful, determined, yet unaware of how deeply the work would affect her.
If she could go back and offer herself one piece of advice, it’d be this: “You’re going to carry people’s stories home with you. That’s not a burden. It’s a privilege. And it’s also what will keep you fighting to do this work differently.”
For over eight decades, HPHA has carried out its mission through housing work, redevelopment projects, and community partnerships. Yet its impact is often most evident in the smaller moments, like the excitement of a student earning a Rising Star Award or the relief of knowing a home is safe and well-maintained.
For Jimenez, those moments are the reminder of why this work matters, that housing is more than just a place to live. As she explains, “It’s hope. It’s health. It’s education. If we get housing right, we unlock everything else. Never underestimate the power of where someone lays their head at night.”
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