OCALA, FL - After 33 years as a Parkside Gardens resident, Clarissa Williams now has doors on her closets and central heat and air in her apartment. Williams is one of eight people who received keys to a newly renovated apartment courtesy of Parkside Gardens' newest owners, Florida Low Income Housing Associates, Inc. "Today is a milestone for us and we're just so happy about it," she said after touring her new place for the first time Thursday morning. Williams, now 56, has seen a lot of changes in her 33 years living at Parkside Gardens. The most recent, a change in ownership that has led to a long overdue renovation project, is one she is proud to be a part of, she said.
Parkside Gardens, located at 621 N.W. Second St., is a government subsidized Section-8 housing complex that has long been plagued with drugs, crime and prostitution. In 2006, Florida Low Income Housing Associates Inc., a nonprofit focused on generating statewide affordable housing, purchased the development with intentions of turning it into a safe place to live, said Pat Kenney, the group's executive director. The organization's efforts will "do wonders for the community," said Ocala Councilwoman Mary Sue Rich. "People want a decent place to live. A lot of those people that lived there at Parkside Gardens before were there because they didn't have anywhere else to go," she said.
The $11 million renovation will provide each of the 144 units at the complex with up-to-date living accommodations: ceiling fans, central heat and air, a remodeled bathroom and carpet. All 144 units are expected to be completely renovated by this spring. "We want Parkside to be a place people want to live, not a place that people have to live," said Vanessa Whitfield, regional manager for Orange Realty, the management company in charge of day-to-day operations at the complex.
The effort is funded largely through $8.2 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and is the greatest infusion that Marion County has ever received for one housing project, said Kenney. When complete, Parkside's new look will feature a security fence, cameras the Ocala Police Department can link to via the Internet and an in-house substation for on-duty officers to use, said Dan Wilson, a consultant for the Florida Low Income Housing Associates. "People used to just walk through there and sell drugs," said Rich.
But those days are gone, said Whitfield, adding that management intends to strictly enforce rules. Now, there will be no live-in boyfriends or girlfriends who are not on the lease and drug possession by a tenant or their guests will result in immediate eviction, said Tony Fields, maintenance and security manager for the complex. "This isn't the projects anymore, these are people's homes," Fields said.
Source: Ocala.com