SEATTLE—January 4, 2007—Even in advance of its first anniversary in February nearly 70 percent of the construction work in Phase I of the three homeWorks phases has been completed. Residents in the first three completed buildings—Lictonwood, Green Lake Plaza and International Terrace—celebrated the end of construction by hosting parties in their refurbished community rooms.
Work continues at Harvard Court, Ballard House and Beacon Tower. So far, the many challenges that faced the project from its inception are being well met.
The refurbishing of the apartments' interiors at Ballard House presents a formidable logistical challenge. In order to refinish the occupied apartments, residents and all of their belongings are being temporarily relocated to different units in the building for approximately two weeks while the work in their apartments is completed.
The prospect of packing and making two moves in quick succession is daunting, but the unwavering support of staff, along with professional assistance from a moving company, has paid off. Every day until February 2007, one resident will move into an apartment and another will move out of one.
So far, according to Sven Koehler, resident communications liaison for the homeWorks project, “The moves have proceeded with very few glitches. Residents returning to their finished apartments have been pleased with the new wall-to-wall carpeting, new flooring, closet doors, countertops and fresh paint.”
While end-of-construction parties at the first three buildings signaled the end of the intrusive construction period, some low-intensity but still challenging projects remain to be finished.
One is the switch to building-wide ventilation systems, designed to improve air quality and reduce moisture build-up and associated problems such as mold growth. Repeated adjustments and mechanical refinements to the air flow systems in all units in the first three buildings have been required.
Even in the face of challenges, the homeWorks project as a whole is progressing without major complications, according to Koehler—and that has permitted the addition of work to the original project scope. For example, SHA’s Low Income Public Housing buildings have public restrooms, generally located near the community rooms. Now, homeWorks has embarked on complete renovations of the bathrooms to improve accessibility.
Phase II of homeWorks gets underway in the spring. Residents of Queen Anne Heights, Olympic West, Lake City House, Cal-Mor Circle, Cedarvale and Center Park have been notified (as required by HUD) of SHA’s intention to fund their buildings’ renovations with the same tax-credit mechanism that was used in Phase I.
Residents were assured that while SHA will share ownership of the buildings with investors through limited partnerships, no changes in the mission, eligibility requirements or management of the buildings will ensue. Rents will not be raised to pay for the construction costs.
The exact schedule has not yet been set for all these buildings’ physical rehabilitation, but the first two buildings in Phase II will be Cal-Mor Circle and Cedarvale House, starting in February 2007. The contractor and architects have been selected—based on their successful work in Phase I, the same team that has been working on this phase of the project from the outset.