The Decatur Housing Authority has poured the concrete foundation for the new Oakview Walk on the former site of 1111 Oakview, razed last year. According to DHA Executive Director Douglas Faust the next step is “going vertical,” and he anticipates residents moving into the new community by April or May.
The project covers .81 acres and will feature 34 units—27 affordable housing (for families up to 60% of area median income) and seven work force housing units (for families up to 100% of area median income).
When completed the DHA will have spent $55,708,103 on redeveloping the city’s public housing starting in 2009. To date the DHA has redeveloped 312 of its total 484 housing units.
The next project is a “rehabilitation” (as opposed to razing and rebuilding) of the 98-unit Swanton Heights, built in 1970. Faust said that planning with architects and residents has begun with the hope that construction starts next summer.
Faust said that for now the plan is to relocate residents in shifts, probably 25 at a time for four or five months during renovation, with some even remaining on site, though not in their actual apartments. Faust anticipates the entire project taking two years.
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