Feb 16, 2015 2 min read

Housing authorities in Washington and Greene counties will receive $1.4 million from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development to make large-scale improvements to public housing, the department announced Thursday.

Stephen Hall, executive director of Washington County Housing Authority, said several projects are or will be in the works in various parts of the county for the $1,404,312 allocated. He enumerated:

• A roof at Frederick Terrace, Fredericktown;

• Roof, siding and windows for Maple Terrace, Washington, where a siding project was started under a previous grant;

• Ventilation system and a new trash compactor that would be used by all residents of Nathan Goff Apartments, North Charleroi;

• Security cameras;

• Some window replacement at Lincoln Terrace, Washington.

“After those projects are considered, we’ll see what money is left and we’ll decide from there,” Hall said. “We’ll be doing planning. We will have to get an architect involved with some of this.”

The earliest Washington County Housing Authority can access the money is April 21.

In 2011, HUD released Capital Needs in the Public Housing Program, a study that estimated the nation’s 1.1 million public housing units are facing an estimated $25.6 billion in large-scale repairs.

Unlike routine maintenance, capital needs are extensive improvements required to make the housing economically sustainable.

Greene County Housing Authority is being awarded $363,437.

Lois Mocniak, executive director of Greene County Housing Authority, said the county’s allocation will be applied to Woodland Manor in Carmichaels, a 50-unit complex for elderly and disabled residents.

“Woodland Manor was built in 1984, so this money will go toward some significant renovations under a two-phase plan,” she said.

The entry door will be made accessible for wheelchairs, and the community room and lobby will receive cosmetic upgrades, like fresh paint and new carpeting.

The primary focus of the rehabilitation, Mocniak said, will be major kitchen upgrades in 23 of the 50 units.

Mocniak said the work will include new cabinets, countertops, flooring and an upgrade in lighting. “And, each unit will be repainted,” she said.

“Next year, assuming we are fortunate to receive additional HUD capital funding allocations, we will do the remaining units,” Mocniak said.