Dunson
Richard W. Wolfe Apartments open at Dunson School
DASH for LaGrange held dedication services at the historic Dunson School in southeast LaGrange on Sept. 14, 2007, introducing the renovated building as the Richard W. Wolfe Apartments at Dunson School.
Using a $3.2 million Section 202 grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), DASH for LaGrange rehabilitated the community school into a stunning 28-apartment complex for low income senior citizens.
Built in 1939, the historic Ivey & Crook structure had been set for demolition when DASH intervened to save it in 2004. The City of LaGrange agreed to donate the building to DASH if the nonprofit agency could come up with funds to renovate it. Within a year, DASH won the HUD grant earmarked for low income senior housing and rescued the old school.
Designated for seniors 62 and older whose annual income averages $9,000, the one-bedroom apartments feature EnergyStar® appliances, original 12-foot celings, and ample living and dining areas. All apartments have a full kitchen and a full bath; 21 units are located on the ground level while seven are on the garden level. The complex features a community room with an adjoining prep kitchen to accommodate light food preparation for special events. An outdoor patio area is enjoyed by family and friends for special activities and visits.
The complex is named for Richard W. Wolfe, who for 14 years was plant manager at Dunson Mill, the major employer at the former textile mill village. Wolfe and his late wife Marian lived in the Dunson Mill village with their four children, including DASH founder Ricky Wolfe, who all attended Dunson Elementary School.
“All my roots are at Dunson where I was born and raised in a three-room cotton mill house,” the elder Wolfe said prior to his death in 2008. “I was heartbroken when I heard they were going to push down the old school. It was really a landmark, the center of the community.”
Like others throughout the Dunson community and LaGrange, Wolfe was overjoyed when the school building was spared.
“The Dunson building is a cherished piece of architecture and an important part of LaGrange’s history,” says Cathy Smith, assistant director of DASH. “We are so pleased that we could find such a wonderful new use for this historic structure. This is the first HUD rehabilitation project of its kind in Georgia, so it is significant on many levels.”
Where everybody knows your name
For Bobbie Delaney and Joe Daniel, the one-bedroom units at The Richard W. Wolfe Apartments at Dunson School are just right.
“They hit the nail on the head as far as my income,” says Delaney, a retired carpenter who learned that the school was being remodeled into apartments for senior citizens while working on a crew to renovate them.
“I’d been renting a room; now what I pay for this whole apartment is less than what I paid for that room,” he says. “When I lived in that room, I felt like I’d never have my own place again. Now I do.”
Joe Daniel was living alone 30 miles outside of LaGrange when his daughter, Tina Brown, heard about the Richard W. Wolfe Apartments. Daniel is disabled, and his daughter wanted him closer so she could better care for him. Now he lives only two miles from her.
“My father is very happy here,” says Brown. “He feels safe and secure and his health has improved. He exercises more and mingles with other residents. They all watch over each other, and I get peace from knowing that. I tell people this is a community within a community.”
The elderly lady didn’t give him her name as she squeezed his hand in gratitude, but Ricky Wolfe will never forget the kindly face of the resident who approached him shortly after moving into the apartments at Dunson School.
“I am 79 years old,” she told the DASH founder. “And this is the nicest place I’ve ever lived.”