You know why they call that whole mixed-income housing experiment HOPE VI, don't you?

'Cause they hope six people will pay good money to live there.

Boy, I've wanted to use that line. Like other skeptics I waited for the project, known here as Park Place Apartments, to fall on its public-private face.

Well, apparently it didn't happen. I just used the line, anyway.

Maybe a better name for the project would be Hope 60, because that's how many apartment units have been filled by people paying full-market rate.

According to the Sept. 23 Occupancy and Leasing Summary Report filed by Park Place's management group, all of the market-rate units have been filled. Of the 70 units designated for rent at market rate, 60 have been leased, nine have been preleased and the remaining unit is used as a model. They're full up, said Robert Marshall of the Boulevard Group. The units reserved for Housing Authority or low-income residents also are occupied or preleased, he said.

The market-rate units - the biggest question mark to skeptics - make up a little more than a third of all the apartments in the 197-unit first phase of the project.

Not that you can just go up to an apartment and tell whether it's occupied by a full-price renter or a tenant with Housing Authority assistance. The units are filled as they come open, Marshall said. So there's no way to know your neighbor's lease status unless he tells you.

Andrew Morrissett doesn't mind telling. He's a holdover from the old Metropolitan Gardens days, a resident of public housing who moved into Park Place in February. He's glad to now share an apartment complex with people who leave for work in business suits and drive to dinner in expensive cars.

"It's good to lose the stigma of being the poorest ZIP code in the - in the world," he said, referring to the old Metropolitan Gardens days.

The market-rate rent for Park Place units ranges from about $600 to more than $1,000, depending on the unit. People such as Chris Hatcher pay that rate, and commute to white-collar jobs downtown by foot.

It's like living in any apartment environment, he said. Only it's close to downtown and close to work. Not a bad deal, if you don't have to worry about sending kids to school.

At present, all of the apartments and townhouses at Park Place are rental units, Marshall said. Later phases will build condominiums or even single-family homes for sale.

That's when the true test will come. Will Birmingham people really invest all that money in downtown residential property to live alongside low-income neighbors?

A lot will depend on whether residents believe there is any hope for Birmingham's school system. A lot will depend on the continued success of this first phase, and whether the promised shops and stores spring up to support a thriving neighborhood.