Columbia Housing Authority to relocate 90 seniors after finding safety concerns
The Columbia Housing Authority is preparing to relocate residents living in a senior high rise downtown after discovering safety concerns at the building.
“Over the last year, Columbia Housing had taken a long hard look at its real estate portfolio to determine what is necessary to provide the best quality, safe, affordable housing to its residents,” a press release from the agency stated. “Built in 1975, the Marion Street High-Rise property is at the top of the agency’s priority list.”
Fifty-six out of 146 units at the building are currently vacant due to corroding pipes in the water supply and sewer disposal lines, the agency’s CEO, Ivory Mathews, said. Out of those vacant units, around 40 have been unoccupied for at least two years.
The remaining 90 residents will begin moving out in May. Some will be relocated to vacant units in the housing authority’s other properties, but the majority will be given housing vouchers. The agency plans to build replacement units at a different property it owns on Carter Street, but there is currently no timeline for construction.
“Once those units are available, the folks that we move from Marion Street will have first right to return to those replacement units,” Mathews said.
In February, the Housing Authority assessed the building and determined rehabilitating it would cost about $16 million and replacing it would cost about $20 million. Because rehab costs are around 79% of replacement costs, the building is considered “obsolete” by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development and therefore ineligible to receive the funds needed to make all the necessary repairs.
The Housing Authority currently has plans to develop new affordable housing units on the sites of Gonzales Gardens and Allen Benedict Court, two former projects that were deemed obsolete. Mathews said the agency has not yet decided whether it will rebuild on the site of the Marion Street High-Rise.
“I hope this will also ignite some stronger commitment from elected officials to continue to do what is necessary to bring additional resources to affordable housing in our community,” Mathews said.
This story was originally published January 28, 2021 at 3:30 PM.
