The Housing Authority of Owensboro began major renovations to their units in the Rolling Heights area at the beginning of the year, and Director Shauna Boom said they’re on schedule to complete the project in middle of 2024.
Boom said most units will undergo a nearly complete reconstruction with only the exterior walls remaining unaltered.
“Basically the only thing that is existing are structures, so we’re not adding an additional bathroom or anything of that nature, but it is all new flooring, all new appliances, all new bathroom fixtures. Everything is new,” Boom said.
The Housing Authority has been slowly working their way through the property, and the construction team has currently finished two buildings.
Although all units will be renovated, Boom said no resident will be displaced. She previously said the Housing Authority stopped leasing vacant units in December 2021 to help accommodate families during the renovation process.
Each family will be relocated to an apartment that mirrors their current one elsewhere in the Housing Authority’s property.
“It’s basically we’re shifting down a building, but they’re moving into the same community they were in. So it might be a building over from where they were. But the most important part is if they need to be in a two-bedroom, we need to get them back into a two-bedroom,” she said.
Boom said the Housing Authority is also going to be able to offer fully accessible units for the first time. She said she hopes those units are finished by the end of this summer, and they will be able to include unites up to four bedrooms in the accessible facility.
“Those units will have bathrooms and bedrooms downstairs as well as upstairs. They will be able to meet a need that we have not been able to meet before,” Boom said.
As they are slowly moving residents into new units, Boom said they are hearing an overwhelmingly positive reaction to their new homes, with residents noting how new everything is.
She said that while the Housing Authority often sees negative moments in people’s lives, one thing that she is trying to do for her team is to ensure that they see the positive moments as well. Because of this, staff are helping with move-ins so they can meet the residents and have positive interactions.
Construction on all of the buildings is expected to be finished by September 2024 and they hope to have our paperwork finalized by that December.
