Federal stimulus money will help repair an elevator and install new siding at two public housing developments in Pasco and Kennewick.
The elevator is in the six-story Rosewood Park high-rise development at 802 N. First Ave. in Pasco, which is managed by the Housing Authority of the city of Pasco and Franklin County.
The housing authority was approved for about $632,000 to do the project. Bobbie Littrell, executive director for the agency, said she hopes to do the entire project this year.
Because the high-rise has only one elevator, residents will have to use the stairs during the project. But the building is occupied mostly by people who are elderly or disabled, and some can't climb stairs, Littrell said, so some of the project costs will include relocating those residents during the work.
"So it will be a time-consuming and pretty costly project, but it's something that we need," Littrell said.
Any leftover money could go to minor street and sidewalk repairs, she said.
The Kennewick Housing Authority was approved for about $376,000 in stimulus money and plans to put it toward new exterior siding at its Sunnyslope Homes development at 1915 W. Fourth Place.
The development for low-income residents has 124 duplex units, as well as administration, community center and maintenance buildings. Although the interiors are in good shape, the exteriors are cracked and deteriorated, said Karlene Navarre, executive director.
Stimulus money will pay for about half of the siding replacement, which could cost up to $700,000, Navarre said.
"We've been putting a little aside in each annual budget and within our five-year (plan) to address the siding at this development," she said. "And with the stimulus money we should have it done."
Navarre said she hopes to go out for bids on the work in two or three months.
Both housing authorities already had the projects in their five-year capital plans. And because they rely on federal money from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for their operations and construction projects, the projects would have been paid for with federal dollars anyway.
But the stimulus money means the projects will happen more quickly.
Similar stories:
Benton County to award about $1.2M for low-income projects
Benton County to award about $1.2M for low-income projects
Supportive housing for adults with disabilities, buying the first ever Tri-City teen homeless shelter and the first phase of a Prosser low-income housing complex may receive help from Benton County.
Benton County is in the process of awarding about $1.2 million in grants to eight projects that would provide affordable housing and services to low-income Tri-Citians.
The money come from a $10 increase in county document recording surcharges that the state Legislature approved in 2002 with Substitute House Bill 2060.
Hanford layoffs: Tightening purse strings
Hanford layoffs: Tightening purse strings
-- Editor's note: Hanford started this year with 12,000 workers and nine months later about 2,000 positions have been cut. Herald reporters and photographers take a closer look at what this means to Tri-Citians and our economy with a daily series of stories that began Sunday.
While the Hanford layoffs are hard on those who have lost their jobs, Tri-City public agencies say they are well positioned to ride out the economic roller coaster.
No layoffs, service cuts or significant interruptions of planned projects are expected, so far, said city, county and port officials interviewed by the Herald.
2011: The year in review
2011: The year in review
Herald staffers and readers agree that almost 2,000 workers losing their jobs at Hanford was the top story in the Tri-Cities during 2011.
News about the layoffs ranked No. 1 in an internal Herald vote and with readers who follow the Herald on Facebook.
But the two groups split ways after that, with Herald staffers rounding out the year's top three stories with the resolution of the 24-year-old "body shop" slayings and a slew of controversies surrounding actions by local school boards, while readers in the Facebook poll picked the Linda Lusk child molestation case and state budget woes as Nos. 2 and 3.
Home permits in Tri-Cities decline a little
Home permits in Tri-Cities decline a little
Don Pratt recently started three new homes in Hansen Park in Kennewick. The owner of Kennewick's Don Pratt Construction said he will see if they sell.
Demand for homes may be a little down, as people listen to the national news and hesitate to make a big purchase like a house, Pratt said. But smart buyers still see it as the right time to buy, with interest rates the lowest Pratt has seen.
"We've got something special going on in the Tri-Cities," Pratt said.
Medical offices, clinics booming in Mid-Columbia
Medical offices, clinics booming in Mid-Columbia
Medical office buildings and clinics seem to be sprouting up in the Tri-Cities faster than coffee stands.
Increasing demand for medical care is inspiring health care businesses, nonprofits and hospitals to build new facilities and expand existing buildings in an area officials say has become a "medical hub."
Projects under way range from adding exam rooms at existing clinics to a new dental office in Pasco.
Print
Email Story
