Phase III of Allen Wilson Development Starts

NorSouth Constructs said Monday it broke ground on the third and last phase of the $30 million redevelopment of the 70-year-old Allen Wilson Terrace Public Housing to the Allen Wilson community by the Decatur Housing Authority.

The DHA selected NorSouth Constructs based on its qualifications and a competitive bid process to build both Phase II and Phase III of Allen Wilson, located at
1450 Commerce Drive.

Phase III of Allen Wilson is expected to be done by January 2014.

When done, the revitalized Allen Wilson will provide 191 units of high-quality, environmentally friendly housing, along with onsite amenities for lower-income families and seniors.

As the renovations were done in phases, the residents were temporarily moved to other DHA-owned housing and then moved back to their as the new buildings were completed.

Phase III will consist of seven buildings, including two 20-unit row-style apartment buildings and five smaller buildings in a cluster home setting. All will be three stories high with flats on the ground floor and two-story townhomes above. In total, Phase III will include:

• 71 one, two and three-bedroom apartments
• An equipped playground
• A separate play area for toddlers
• A community garden
• A laundry facility
• A half-mile landscaped walking trail.

“Higher housing and transportation costs have created an economic burden for many low-to-moderate income households, pushing them out of cities and further away from educational and job opportunities,” DHA Executive Director Doug Faust said in a statement.

“We are working to reverse this trend in Decatur by demolishing a functionally obsolete housing project in the heart of the city, and creating in its place a vibrant, environmentally sensitive open campus with affordable housing options to serve families of all incomes and ages, and within easy walking distance of Decatur’s shops, restaurants, schools and offices.”