The Manhattan Housing Authority will be officially re-opening and unveiling the newly renovated Apartment Towers on Friday, November 16.
After multiple years of work, MHA is holding a grand re-opening for the income-based housing building. It’s open to the public and runs from 1 to 5 p.m. MHA Executive Director Joann Sutton was on a recent edition of In Focus and said they will be offering refreshments as well as tours of the renovated building.
“We will have a couple of model units set up so you can go up and see what an apartment looks like, what it might look like to live in one of those apartments and see our facilities,” Sutton said. “We’re very proud of what we have done.”
MHA Board Vice Chair Phil Anderson also commented on the quality of the work performed by architect Kent Foster, saying it looked “quite remarkable.” They said the units have all new fixtures, cabinets, flooring and paint jobs.
“These are housing units that are really state-of-the-art,” said Anderson. “They’re not only comfortable, but everything is new on the inside — including the Manko windows.”
Anderson noted that the new windows were important as the old windows they replaced were a large reason moisture could make it into the building and foster mold growth.
Sutton said the renovation process began in 2013 when they discovered mold in the building as well as issues with the sewer lining, window sills and the heating, ventilation and air conditioning [HVAC] system. After relocating tenants and acquiring grants to fund the project — including a $1 million loan from the city of Manhattan — renovations began in 2016.
“It’s been under construction all of this time,” Sutton said. “There were some starts and stops, some bumps in the road with funding, but we finally got it all together.”
Tenants are currently in the process of being moved back in, though only 14 or 15 residents are returning. Anderson said that due to the paperwork involved in income-based housing, it could take multiple months to reach full occupancy. Sutton said multiple one bedroom and studio apartments available and encouraged people interested to apply on the Manhattan Housing Authority website.
