Green apartments to open in Lawton Complex used environmentally friendly material
BY JAMES S. TYREE
Published: November 19, 2008
One of 10 buildings at the new Villanova Apartments in Lawton. PHOTO PROVIDED BY CATHOLIC CHARITIES
LAWTON — An apartment complex in Lawton designed to help the environment along with low-income families is scheduled to be dedicated Thursday.
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A dedication and open house begins at 10 a.m. for the Villanova Apartments, 315 NW Fourth St.
Anyone interested is invited to attend.
Chris Nervig of senior project developer Mercy Housing Inc., said the complex was built with recycled construction materials atop the existing concrete foundations and piers of the old Columbia Square apartments.
She said other green measures include energy-rated windows, heat-resistant roof shingles, Energy Star appliances, low-water landscaping, energy-usage monitors, low-emitting formaldehyde in the cabinets’ plywood, and motion sensor lights in the community building.
The 64-unit complex is operated by Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. Applicants must have incomes that qualify for Section 8 housing.
Three-fourths of the complex — 48 units — are already occupied, according to Catholic Charities public information director Connie Blaney.
"Our goal from the beginning has been to provide quality housing that gives our residents a sense of belonging in an environment that is clean, safe, healthy and energy-efficient,” said Tim O’Connor, executive director of Catholic Charities.
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Actually, I see nothing particularly "green" about the complex. They simply used quality materials and a little common sense. The term "green" is being over utilized and is losing it's meaning, a bit like the term "organic".
Thank you Annabella. Good information. How about upkeep? Who is responsible? If an apartment or a house is the landlord liable for maintenance? If so, why are most government funded housing programs like this one in such a state of disrepair. Truly curious here.
No, section 8 is not a way for lower income folks to acquire ownership. It is a voucher based program sponsored by the government. Vouchers may be either "project-based" (where its use is limited to a specific apartment complex; Public Housing Authorities (PHA's) may reserve up to 25% of its vouchers as such) or "tenant-based" (where the tenant is free to choose a unit in the private sector, is not limited to specific complexes, and may reside anywhere in the United States or Puerto Rico where a PHA operates a Section 8 program, though in practice such portability is very difficult). Under the voucher program, individuals or families with a voucher find and lease a unit (either within a specified complex or in the private sector) and pay a portion of the rent (based on income, but generally no more than 30% of the family's income). The PHA pays the landlord the remainder of the rent, subject to a cap referred to as "Fair Market Rent" (FMR) which is determined by HUD.
Annabella, Oklahoma City - Nov 19, 2008 at 12:36 pm
They are apartments. Hopefully upkeep will be done by the operators of the complex.
Section 8 is a way for lower income folks to acquire ownership, but the fact that in most cases they cannot afford the upkeep is somehow overlooked.
Home ownership requires more than the ability to make a payment. Maintenance is costly as each of us who owns a home are very well aware of.
I actually have my masters, thank you very much. And my money is going into a fund that has one years worth of living expenses so I will not go hungry and lose my home.
But thank you for assuming I'm uneducated.
How many of you have actually BEEN in Section 8 houses. They may be nice, but the tenants will crap them up as soon as they can. Instead of focusing on building green, maybe they should have focused on enabling these families to buy a house of their own.
That's why section 8 housing is awful. There is no sense of pride or ownership.
Annabella, Oklahoma City - Nov 19, 2008 at 10:37 am
If you were to lose your job like so many auto\retail workers have over the past few years have through no fault of your own, but instead because of poor management at the company your work for and lax governmental regulation, would you turn down something like this and instead let your family go hungry and lose their home?
A scenario like this is more often the case in circumstances like this, as opposed to Reagan's "Welfare Queen" theory of the 1980's.
Myself, I spent time and energy getting an education and job, too. The thing that makes my happiest about doing so is that I am able to give some of the money that I earn from that to charities like this, who can help in ways that my efforts alone can't.
I could afford it.....I guess it has something to do with the fact that instead of complaining about those less fortunate I spent my time and energy getting an education and a job.
Annabella, I guess you don't understand the words charitable donations. That means private people gave money to an organization to help build this complex. I think this is a wonderful project that was done to help those in need and was all done by donations.
The article indicates that charitable/donated monies were used in the construction process and it was not funded by the state. Section 8 funds will be used to help pay the rent for the tenants.
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