A decades-old South Norwalk apartment complex is getting ready to be demolished.
Residents of Meadow Gardens are being relocated, with plans for the public housing to be demolished this summer, according to Adam Bovilsky, executive director of the Norwalk Housing Authority, which owns and operates the complex.
Relocated residents of the 54-unit building were provided vouchers to move, with most choosing a privately-owned rental, Bovilsky said.
“A handful of families voluntarily chose to move into public housing. Usually, it's over concerns; some like the idea of the housing authority as their landlord, they're comfortable with it, they're familiar with it,’ Bovilsky said. ”Some families are concerned that their credit, background or for any other reason, that they may have trouble finding a place.”
Remaining residents should be rehoused by June. Demolition of the 64-year-old apartments and property remediation should begin this summer.
As the building aged, the foundation shifted and began letting moisture in, Bovilsky said.
“Basically, it's a lot of things that we really can't control,” he said. “The fixes, as we've shown, are more expensive than it would be to demolish and rebuild the structure.”
The damage was a result of the building’s age and original construction, not a lack of maintenance on the part of the housing authority, Bovilsky said.
“The structure of the building was letting moisture in, and we'd been getting some issues with mold that couldn't just be cleaned up, but they were really sort of structural,” he said.
The old units will be replaced with 55 new apartments, which should be ready in about 18 months. Current residents will be able to return when the new units are ready. The apartments will remain low-income, for residents earning 50% or below of the area’s median income.
The project is estimated to cost more than $46 million. Recently, U.S. Rep. Jim Himes secured $875,000 in federal funds for the project.
“As far as funding, we'll be finding out about a lot of that funding over the coming weeks,” Bovilsky said.
Funding may also come from the Department of Economic and Community Development’s Community Investment Fund program, as well as gap funding from the Department of Housing, Bovilsky said.
