Beecher Terrace has new life, new look as city invites longtime residents to 'come home'

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- There is new life and a new look for a once-troubled Louisville housing complex.

Beecher Terrace, built in 1939 in the Russell neighborhood between Muhammad Ali Boulevard, 13th Street, Jefferson Street and Ninth Street, has been described as a severely distressed public housing development.

Several years ago, the Louisville Metro Housing Authority received a $29 million Choice Neighborhoods Initiative Implementation grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The money is being used to transform Beecher Terrace into up-to-date apartment units.

Officials from Metro Housing Authority call it "revitalization over gentrification." 

One longtime resident, Candace Banks, said she remembers the days when Beecher Terrace was known for something other than the multimillion-dollar Vision Russell transformation.

"It was pretty bad," she said. "Even while I was living here, I've seen a lot of violence, too. Not in the new Beecher but the old Beecher."

Banks is one of several hundred tenants who were relocated to other parts of the city. While they were gone, crews tore down and rebuilt Beecher Terrace.

"When they moved us out, I was in an area that I wasn't familiar with," Banks said. "But coming back was a blessing."

Last year, crews finished Phase 1 and 2 of the renovation project. Banks said she jumped at the chance to move back home.

Phase 1 includes a 100-plus unit senior apartment building with a common area, a pool table and other amenities.

"People are loving it here, and that's what we want to see," said Jelisa Chatman with the Louisville Metro Housing Authority.

Chatman said Phase 1 is at capacity, but Phase 2 has units available, and former Beecher Terrace residents are being offered the first choice.

"Between the projects that are done, 70 original Beecher Terrace families have come back home," she said.

And Chatman has a message for some of the other families who haven't returned:

"Come on home," she said. "We know that you love this place. The spirit — as I like to say — the spirit of the Russell neighborhood is still there."

Phase 3 will include a swimming pool and other amenities for the Beecher Terrace residents. That phase is scheduled to be finished by this summer. 

Related Stories:

• Beecher Terrace celebrates grand opening of first 2 phases in $30 million project
• Senior tenants moving into brand new Beecher Terrace apartments

Copyright 2021 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.