DECATUR — More than $1.4 million of federal stimulus money will be spent in Decatur to update 24 low-income housing units at the Garden Walk Apartments on Stadium Avenue, the Arkansas Development Finance Authority announced last week.
The stimulus money is part of $60 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds the ADFA board of directors recently approved to restart 20 affordable housing developments across the state. The developments were stalled in 2007 and 2008 because of the troubled housing market, according to a press release from the ADFA.
"These funds are necessary to help bridge the financial gap and put developments back on track, helping to create or preserve 728 rental residences for low-income households across the state," the release states.
Rural Housing of Decatur, L.P., of Fort Smith, which owns the Garden Walk Apartments, applied for a building permit from the City of Decatur in July.
According to the permit, the company plans to completely remodel the interior and exterior of the apartments. Included in a long list of exterior work are repaving the driveways and parking areas, replacing and adding new sidewalks, reroofing and re-siding the buildings and providing new playground equipment.
Inside the apartments the company listed over 48 updates to be made, such as replacing kitchen and bathroom cabinets, counters and sinks, kitchen ranges, hot water heaters, heating, venting and air conditioning systems, flooring and smoke detectors. The company also plans to repair or replace doors, windows and wall surfaces and re-insulating the attics.
News, Pages 10 on 09/16/2009