Dozens of Rincon apartments will be upgraded over the next several months, after Rincon City Council members agreed to a financing package for three apartment complexes.
Council members approved a resolution authorizing the Athens Housing Authority to issue finance bonds for Pine Manor, Willowpeg Lane and Willowpeg Village apartment complexes’ renovations.
“A lot of this type of job has to be done ahead of time,” said Kristyn Martin of Boyd Management. “We don’t plan on displacing the tenants for more than a day.”
Boyd Management expects to spend approximately $18,000 per apartment in rehabilitating each unit. Pine Manor has 24 townhouse apartments, a mix of one- and two-bedroom units. Willowpeg Lane has a mix of one- and two-bedroom units for a total of 48 apartments, and Willowpeg Village has 57 apartments. Of those 57, 52 are one-bedroom units.
Workers will spend about six to eight weeks on each property and construction won’t start until next year, Martin said.
“The properties are 15 years old. They’ve been maintained, but they’re ready for a spruce up,” she said. “We’re looking forward to bringing them up to snuff. It’s going to make a lot of people happy.”
Boyd Management oversees 130 properties across the Southeast, Martin said.
The renovation work also could be a boon for the Rincon economy, she said. Each property rehab can average 226 workers, spending 322 motel nights and eating 3,167 meals.
According to Boyd Management, because of the small size of each of the units and their widespread distribution across Georgia, individual bond financings are not economically feasible. That means one bond issuer, which in this case is the Athens Housing Authority. South Carolina has a bond issuer that can perform that function statewide without local jurisdictions having to pass resolutions such as the Rincon approved.
Council members also approved the annexation of 6.93 acres and a rezoning to multi unit commercial apartments for a long-planned senior housing enclave. Builders plan on 48 units reserved for senior citizens.
Final approval of the site plan is expected to take place at the next city council meeting.
“We have to have that before we can start construction,” said Jay Collins of Silverwood Place. “It takes a long time to go through the steps, unfortunately.”
