CHAMPAIGN -- Two low-income housing complexes in Champaign-Urbana will be torn down possibly as soon as next winter to make way for new housing.

Slated to be demolished are Joann Dorsey Homes, a 67-unit complex at Bradley and McKinley avenues in Champaign, and Dunbar Court, a 26-unit complex at 1208 N. Wright St., U.

The Housing Authority of Champaign County which owns both properties recently received approval from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to redevelop the 60-year-old properties.

Tenants of both complexes were told last summer they'll have to move out while the buildings are being demolished and rebuilt.

"We're hoping that everyone will find a place to move by Sept. 30," said Patty Smith, the housing authority's department manager for capital programs.

Residents will be given Section 8 rental-assistance vouchers they can use to find housing elsewhere. The vouchers will be good nationwide, she said.

Smith said she hopes redevelopment of both properties can be completed by December 2014 at the latest.

Edward Bland, the housing authority's executive director, said the cost of demolition and redevelopment of both properties could be in the $20 million to $25 million range, though he added the actual figure could be higher or lower.

Six private developers expressed interest in being development partners with the housing authority, and four made the short list:

Northbrook-based Brinshore Development.

Miami-based Carlisle Development Group.

The Benoit Group, headquartered in Atlanta.

Gorman & Co., based in Oregon, Wis.

Brinshore Development has previous experience locally, having developed Douglass Square in Champaign and Crystal View Townhomes in Urbana.

The prospective development partners are scheduled to be interviewed April 11, with the housing authority board slated to consider staff recommendations April 28.

Smith said a lot of weight will be given to whether developers have not only financing plans, but also back-up plans in case their first plan doesn't come together.

Herrera and Associates of Charleston, S.C., has been the housing authority's consultant for the redevelopment.

Alfred Anderson, who chairs the housing authority's board of commissioners, said he's glad to proceed with both projects, but is particularly happy about the redevelopment of Dunbar Court.

"Dunbar Court is probably in the worst condition," he said. "If it were up to me, I'd target that one first."

Smith agreed, noting that Joann Dorsey Homes was gutted and remodeled in 1990. "The walls in Dunbar Court hardly have an area that hasn't been damaged in some way by a plumbing or roofing leak," she said.

Plus, none of the units there is accessible to the disabled, and Dunbar Court has no bathrooms on the main floor, she said.

Unlike Douglass Square and Crystal View Townhomes, the new developments will include public housing units, as well as units with market-rate rents, Smith said.

They will be considered "mixed-income" developments, with units available for low-, moderate- and middle-income residents.

"We want these to be places where people want to live and can afford to live," Smith said. "There's not enough quality affordable housing in Champaign County."