Housing Authority Updates Building with Federal Stimulus Money
September 8, 2010
CHARLESTON, SC – Two new speedy elevators in the towering Joseph Floyd Manor quickly carries Brad Boyd to his tenth floor apartment where he enjoys a newly renovated kitchen and bathroom, new flooring and faucets that shine.
“They really fixed this place up nice,” says Boyd, who a decade ago moved into Joseph Floyd Manor, managed by the Charleston County Housing and Redevelopment Authority (CCHRA). “They even cleaned the grout in my shower, and the elevators talk,” he says with surprise. “That’s really a big help for someone who is blind.”
Boyd is one of nearly 190 people who live in Joseph Floyd and eight single-family homes, managed by CCHRA. The structures were recently updated with the help of $675,601 the agency received through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Jimmie Cobbs, CCHRA’s director of facilities and modernization, says the money went to complete overdue deferred maintenance work. “If we didn’t receive this money most of these projects would have been pushed years down the line,” Cobbs says. “I don’t know when we would have gotten to take care of this specific work. By the time we do preventative maintenance work with the money we receive (from HUD) it is almost gone.”
The majority of the stimulus money – $536,941 – was spent at the 12-story Joseph Floyd Manor, topped by a penthouse level that gives a panoramic view of the area around the city of Charleston.
The money was used to upgrade two aging elevators, refurbish the corridors and stairwells, and rehab kitchens and bathrooms in 13 of the 156 units in the 60-year-old building.
The roof systems for eight single-family homes in Charleston County and the city of North Charleston were replaced and several houses received structural repairs.
The Otis Elevator Co., J.W. Painting and Repairs of Charleston and LCM Constructors Inc. in North Charleston were contracted to do the work, which created 20 jobs during 18 months, Cobbs says. “About fifty percent of the stimulus money was labor, which added to the local economy,” he adds.
As part of the requirement to receive the funds an agency must obligate all funds in one year and spend the money within two years. Pat Nelson, Cobbs’ assistant, says proudly that the CCHRA spent the money well before the deadline, with eighteen months to spare.
Cobbs says CCHRA has applied for money to complete additional deferred maintenance. The stimulus money helped, he says. “But we need millions to do all of the work that needs to be done.”
