After some prodding from tenants, the Jefferson City Housing Authority plans to renovate and modernize the kitchens at Dulle Tower Apartments.
The Housing Authority will replace lateral sewer lines in the apartments. Since the contractor will have to take out some of the kitchen cabinets to reach the pipes, the Housing Authority decided it would be cost-effective to renovate the kitchens at the same time.
"The kitchens are outdated, and even though it's public housing, it still needs to be safe, decent and nice," Housing Authority Executive Director Cynthia Quetsch said. "It's much easier to take good care of things that are in good care when you move in as opposed to really old; so I think people will be really excited."
Renovations include new kitchen cabinets, counter tops, slightly larger stoves and possibly new refrigerators.
The Housing Authority received a $750,000 grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines to offset the cost of the kitchen renovations. Capital funding from the federal government will cover the lateral sewer lines project.
Due to the extent of the improvements, apartments must be vacant during renovations. Those living in Dulle Towers may be relocated to a different apartment in Dulle Tower. If vacancies do not exist tenants will be placed at the top of the wait list for other public housing properties where they meet the eligibility requirements.
"That obviously assumes that we do have vacancies over at the other apartments," Quetsch said. "We do have periodic vacancies but it's just going to be kind of a matter of luck, which is why we're starting now to help people find places because if you live in public housing and you're on good standing, we're not going to kick you out."
Dulle Tower apartments currently vacant will remain empty until renovations are complete.
If there are not enough vacancies for tenants, renovations may be delayed, Quetsch said.
Depending on the cost, part of renovations may include moving the stoves in some apartments. Currently, some apartments have stoves in the corner, which She said can be restrictive and cause wasted space.
Quetsch said she does not know when they will start the project since they are waiting for engineers to finish with the scope of work for the project before bidding the project.