After months of construction, two dozen renovated public housing apartment units on Charleston's West Side now are ready for tenants.
Littlepage Terrace's new townhomes are complete after nearly a year of construction. At an open house Thursday, officials and community members viewed the new apartments.
It's the latest step in a multi-year effort to replace Charleston's older public housing units.
The two-story townhomes contain eight one-bedroom apartments and 16 two-bedroom apartments. There are multiple handicap accessible units in the complex.
Charleston-Kanawha Housing Authority board member Tim Morris said the update was necessary.
The former buildings were built in the 1940's. The original neighborhood contained 170 housing units. The three-story buildings that made up the neighborhood were barrack-style, with enclosed stairways and entrances.
"Times change and needs change," Morris said. "This is more personal. It does a lot not only for people who live here, but also for the city of Charleston."
Michelle Wilshere, senior manager for the West Virginia Housing Development Fund's Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program, agreed.
"It's less institutionalized. It makes people feel like they're at home and will give them pride of living in a safe place," she said. "In everybody's life they want to go home to a nice home. This provides that for people in this area."
The one and two bedroom units are similar to similar projects at nearby Orchard Manor, and Washington Manor on the East End. Charleston Mayor Danny Jones said more than $100 million has been spent to renovate public housing in the city.
"You wouldn't know that this was HUD housing if you were just driving by," Jones said.
The housing authority and the city hopes this isn't the last project for the area. A Low-Income Housing Tax Credit for an additional phase of the project is being submitted later this month. If successful, 20 more housing units will be constructed sometime next year.
"It's been a long road. I hope it's not the end because we have a little more to do," Jones said.
Multiple single people and families are moving into the units over the next few days. Almost all of the units are already filled, according to the Charleston-Kanawha Housing Authority.
Reach Ali Schmitz at ali.schmitz@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4843 or follow @SchmitzMedia on Twitter.