A YELLOW RIBBON is cut to mark the opening of a triplex at 149 9th St. S. E. and completion of a year-long renovation project by Cleveland Housing Authority. In the photo are Cleveland Boys & Girls Club representative Derrick Kinsey, CHA board member Joe Washington, At-Large Cleveland City Councilman George Poe, CHA Executive Director Paul Dellinger, CHA board chair Ed Lay, Cleveland Mayor Tom Rowland, Congressman Chuck Fleischmann’s representative Arch Trimble and CHA Vice Chair Jerry Bohannon. Banner photo, DAVID DAVIS
Housing authority board members and city officials cut the ribbon earlier this week to open a triplex at 149 9th St. S.E., the final building in the renovation project funded through a grant from the Department of Housing & Urban Development.
The project encompassed total renovation of the exteriors and interiors of eight apartments. Four units were designed for clients needing mobility accessible features. All units were equipped with safety equipment for clients with either hearing or visual impairments or both.
Two apartments in the triplex are three bedrooms on both ends of the building with a two-bedroom apartment in the center. The two bedroom and one of the larger units are handicap accessible with assist railings in the bathroom. Wheelchairs easily fit through the doors and have plenty of room for maneuvering in the wide open floor plan.
All units are fitted with dark colored switch plates, receptacle covers and door trims are in sharp contrast to the lighter walls for easier recognition. Another feature is smoke detectors fitted with strobe lights.
The project was part of CHA’s long term strategic plan for continued improvement of its properties, services, and operations.
The general contractor was Burris Construction of Cleveland and Michael Brady Inc., served as the architectural firm and project manager.
During the Ribbon Cutting, CHA Chairman Ed Lay presented Cleveland Mayor Tom Rowland with two certificates from HUD which recently recognized CHA as a High Performing Agency, HUD’s highest honor, for the second straight year with performance scores of 28.93 and 29.44 of a possible 30 points.
“The scores are almost perfection and you can’t do much better than perfect,” Rowland said.
Chairman Lay praised the agency staff for hard work and dedication to providing needed services.
“CHA’s operational assessment scores have steadily improved under the leadership of Executive Director Paul A. Dellinger,” Lay said. “Paul Dellinger was hired in May 2005 and has led the agency to achieve High Performer status in back-to-back years.”
Dellinger said all the credit goes to his staff.
“I have a great team of dedicated professionals who love helping people,” he said.
Rowland said the housing authority’s new concept is to focus on quadplexes and triplexes in the future instead of the large buildings generally associated with public housing.
Maintenance Foreman Rich Heil said CHA provides rental housing assistance to more than 640 low-income, elderly, and disabled families each month and currently has a waiting list of more than 250 families.
CHA maintains 434 apartments on 14 properties that are 98 percent occupied. The agency has provided rental housing assistance to low-income and elderly families in Cleveland and Bradley County since 1959.
