LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Cecil Long has lived in the Beecher Terrace Housing Complex for nearly two decades and admits the transformation is still a little hard to believe.
"My goodness, this is going to be new," she said.
A $29 million transformation is taking place in three phases at the Louisville housing complex, part of a Choice Neighborhoods Initiative Implementation grant award from HUD in December 2016.
The project will replace the distressed housing complex, one phase at a time.
"Moving is a lot on me," Long said. "I'm 70. Moving is just rough.
Devan King, case manager-supervisor of Urban Strategies Incorporated, is responsible for finding homes for more than 700 Beecher Terrace residents.
"We want to make sure that every family moves to sustainability throughout relocation," King said. "We've moved about 500 people. Five-hundred families have relocated. We are actually at our third phase of this relocation grant."
Phase one has been demolished and cleared. Phase two includes several empty buildings and phase three is home to about 150 residents still waiting to move.
"Phase two relocation has already happened ,and our phase three of relocation has already started," said Lisa Osanka, executive director of the Louisville Metro Housing Authority.
Osanka said phase one will be under construction very soon.
"The phase one senior building will be 117 — one- and two bedroom buildings ... mostly one bedrooms that will be available to residence 55-plus," Osanka said.
Long is part of phase three and not looking forward to moving more than once, but she admits it will be tempting once phase one is done.
"It sure will be, just to see what it's all about," she said.
Phase one is scheduled to be finished by next year and the entire project by 2023.
The transformation is part of the bigger $200 million Vision Russell Choice Neighborhood Initiative. To get specific dates and details of the entire transformation plan, click here.
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