Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(US black) the projects, the lowest class of housing.

1994		Rebennack & Rummel Under A Hoodoo Moon 31: I had got to know the projects [...] pretty well. They hid stuff there in the ’jecks.
1995		L. Stavsky et al. A2Z.
2002		Simon & Burns ‘One Arrest’ Wire ser. 1 ep. 7 [TV script] What you doing down in the ’jects?