Columbia Housing Authority begins demolition for Park Avenue public housing upgrade
Erika McGuire
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Columbia Housing Authority on Monday started the demolition of the Park Avenue public housing apartments, to replace 79 units aged units.
Demolition began this week on the first two blocks, with the third block scheduled to come down sometime next year. In total, 70 units will be torn down and replaced with 79 updated units. According to Columbia Housing Authority CEO Randy Cole, 50 of those units will be removed during the first phase.
The apartments, originally built in 1964, have exceeded its life cycles and suffer from poor insulation, deteriorating foundations, outdated electrical systems and failing HVAC systems. The upgraded units will offer between one and four bedrooms.
“Each unit will be very energy efficient and built to high standards,” Cole said. “They’ll have dishwashers, high-speed internet, quality finishes, a very good-quality project. It’ll be really nice housing for our residents for many years to come.”
The resource center on site will also be upgraded and will include the Annie Fisher Food Pantry that has provided 100,000 pounds of food to residents. It will also offer a meeting space for staff and nonprofits.
“The county has put $5 million in ARPA funding, and the city put in $2 million as well,” Cole said. “Plus another million dollars of CDBG funds, and then we had over close to $14 million in tax credits through the Missouri Housing Development Commission for the project, and then we also have some equity and long-term financing into the project as well,”
When the project was first proposed, the estimated cost was $23 million. But due to inflation, that figure has now increased to $27 million.
After demolition is complete, Cole said the next step will be to prepare the site for construction. That includes extensive site work such a soil preparation and infrastructure installation. The goal is to pour the foundations before winter so walls can go up soon after.
“We’ll see some buildings come online mid-next year on these first two blocks and once those are ready, we’ll move people back in,” Cole said. “We’ll also move people in from across the street to the north, and so once we get that fully cleared, we’ll start in on demolition on that project as well.”
The second phase of the project, which includes units on the north side, is expected to be completed in 2027. Residents were relocated about a month ago, according to Cole. The Columbia Housing Authority covered all moving expenses.
“It means a lot to our residents, they really like living here downtown, really close to jobs, amenities, all kinds of good things to be close to walkability, “Cole said. “I think the community investing so much in our residents as really a state matter for how much we value, people in our community and value them having nice, affordable, high quality housing.”