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DASH renovates apartment complex at Hillside

Georgia Department of Community Affairs assists DASH in renovating a Hillside apartment complex into attractive housing for low-income residents.

With monetary assistance from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA), DASH for LaGrange completed renovation of an apartment complex in the Hillside community in 2007, converting three aging buildings into attractive housing within the historic neighborhood. DASH utilized a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant from the Georgia DCA to acquire the property and another $400,000 in conventional bank financing to rehabilitate the units. The Wilburn Apartments complex consists of three apartment buildings, each with four two-bedroom units.

“This was an important project because it renovated a blighted property and provides affordable rental units at Hillside,” says Cathy Smith, DASH director of Resource Development and Planning. Impressively, no Wilburn tenants were displaced from their homes during completion of the project. With four units vacant at the time of acquisition, construction was completed on one building at a time while tenants resided in the other two buildings, according to Smith.

The townhouse-style units each feature two bedrooms, one-and-a-half baths, and a concrete patio off the dining area. Rehabilitation included adding all new kitchen cupboards, repairing and repainting all walls, and replacing plumbing fixtures and floor coverings. All new energy efficient windows, HardiPlank siding, roofs, heating and air systems, and EnergyStar appliances were installed. No-step entries were incorporated to accommodate wheelchair access.

Living at Wilburn Apartments is affordable to low-income residents, says Smith. Rents are affordable to households at 60 percent of the area median income; tenants are required to have income that does not exceed 80 percent median income.

The mission of DASH is to revitalize and make sustainable LaGrange's once vibrant neighborhoods by eliminating substandard housing, creating socio-economic diversity, encouraging home ownership, inviting economic development and engaging residents in active community leadership. For additional information about DASH or its initiatives, contact us at (706) 298-0221 or visit online at http://www.dashlagrange.com.

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