The Columbia Housing Authority (CHA) has broken ground on a $2-million plan to demolish 70 aging apartments on Park Avenue and replace them with 79 brand-new energy-efficient units.
CHA chief executive officer Randy Cole joined host Fred Parry in-studio Saturday on 939 the Eagle’s “CEO Roundtable” program:
“There’s 70 units down there on three blocks, where we’re going to be demolishing them, taking them all the way to the ground. And this is the property that sits between Douglass high school and the Post Office. And we’re going to be replacing them with new, nice affordable housing,” Mr. Cole says.
The current units on Park Avenue were built in 1964, and Columbia city manager De’Carlon Seewood says they have electrical issues and collapsing sewer lines. The city is using federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars for the project.
Meantime, many of you have noticed the new development at Columbia’s Garth and Sexton, in the central city. Mr. Cole tells listeners that residents are already living in Kinney Point:
“It’s a 34-unit development. One, two, three and four-bedroom households for very vulnerable populations. We have ten households moving in there right now,” says Mr. Cole.
Mr. Cole says Kinney Point is named after Marvin Kinney, who was appointed to the CHA board of commissioners in 1968 and was the first African-American appointed to the board. Cole says they’re trying to emulate Marvin Kinney’s vision with the project.
You can listen to Fred Parry’s full interview with CHA chief executive officer Cole here.