Olson Village units getting make over Two phases planned to make the grade
A Taylor Housing Authority complex is undergoing two phases of extensive renovations to meet Section 8 guidelines under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, officials said.
Olson Village, 311 E. Seventh St., is currently renovating unoccupied units, with residents moving in afterwards, THA officials said.
The authority has partnered with Atrium Housing and Knight Development in a group called Taylor RAD Family to transition the units from public housing to Section 8.
“In public housing, the housing authority and the government are the landlords,” said Shea Goltzman, THA executive director/CEO. “In Section 8, the housing authority will be like any other landlord in town where they offer their properties to somebody.”
Rent is income based, officials said.
The director added, “You still have to meet certain income standards. … Some (tenants) pay 25% of the rent, others pay 75% and the landlord (THA) covers the rest.”
HUD is asking housing authorities in many cities to convert units to Section 8, she said.
“We utilize Section 8 through HUD,” Goltzman said. “We no longer have public housing and we partnered with two great private entities.”
According to Goltzman, some of the properties have units that were built in the 1970s and these are the first to be redeveloped during the two-phase process.
“We’re redoing the foundations,” Goltzman said. “Some of them we’re having to go 40 feet underground to make them structurally sound and the rest are 20 feet deep.”
The units will also undergo interior makeovers.
“We’re also gutting the interior down to the studs. These units will have new electrical, new plumbing and new sewer lines. All of the old clay pipes are going away, too,” she said. “They’re also getting new counters, new flooring and everything will be energy efficient. There will also be new landscaping and lighting.”
Goltzman said THA will receive more funding through Section 8 than it did via public housing.
“With public housing, we only received pennies on the dollar to keep the buildings up. This is why they look the way they do,” she said. “We were not getting enough funding through public housing. This infusion of private funds helps tremendously.”
According to Goltzman, the private funding is coming through the partnership with Atrium and Knight.
Goltzman noted residents could face less of a financial burden once the properties make the full conversion from public housing to Section 8.
“The rent will be in line with other properties, but the residents will actually pay less,” Goltzman said. “This allows them to budget the money for other necessities.”
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“The rent will be in line with other properties, but the residents will actually pay less.”
— Shea Goltzman, Taylor Housing Authority
