For seniors living in the Albany Terrace Apartments in Chicago’s South Lawndale neighborhood, the past week inside their building has been cold. A pipe burst and flooded the building’s auditorium and hallways, residents said, and the heat went out.
The Chicago Housing Authority says a $100 million renovation is scheduled for the 50-year-old building in January. But some are disappointed it had to get bad before it gets better.
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Valerie Dickerson, who lives in the 17-story building, said she has been waking up in the middle of the night from the cold. And some residents like Donald Richardson, have resorted to turning on their stoves to try to stay warm, even though it’s dangerous.
On Thursday, a giant Aggreko power generator sat in front of Albany Terrance Apartments, which has 350 housing units, including 32 mobility accessible units and 37 sensory adaptable units. The building offers public housing to low-income adults 55 and older.
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The housing agency told the Tribune that all residential areas had heat and hot water as of Wednesday afternoon, and added that the scheduled renovation would help the building to withstand severe weather and preserve the building for the long term.
The $100 million building rehabilitation slated for January would include upgrades to residential units and common spaces, central air conditioning, new electrical, plumbing replacement and a new elevator, the CHA said. Construction is expected to be completed in the summer of 2024.
But “it shouldn’t have got this far,” said Roderick Wilson, executive director of the Lugenia Burns Hope Center, a Bronzeville-based community organization. “They shouldn’t be without heat.”
The problems began Sunday when a pipe burst in the building’s lobby due to the weather, said Shontea Williams who was visiting Thursday her mother and father who live in the building. She said they had no heat for the last few days. She pointed to the power generator next to the building and said it was a temporary fix.
The CHA said it was working closely with building management to resolve concerns raised by residents, and repairmen were on-site working to resolve problems Wednesday. According to a CHA spokeswoman, any resident who feels there’s not sufficient heat in their unit will be offered hotel accommodations.
Some residents had to be moved, Dickerson said, because there were leaks in their apartments.
“They’re gonna do what they’re gonna do,” said Richardson, who has been living at Albany Terrace Apartments for 16 years. But he added that he’s not too worried about the heat, given that the snowstorm and cold front have passed.
Celeste Mitcalf, another resident of Albany Terrace, said she returned the day after Christmas to find out a pipe had burst and that there were problems with the heat in the building. She had been away, caring for her daughter who had broken her ankle. She said she wasn’t too bothered by the heating issues.
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“I like it when it’s kinda crisp,” she said with a laugh. But she added she also hasn’t found herself in need of using her stove to keep warm like some of her neighbors, since she has a space heater.
When the renovations begin next month, the CHA said, some residents may need to be temporarily relocated within the same building during the construction. Once the renovations are complete, all units will remain for qualified low-income seniors, the CHA said.
The affordable housing is financed through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Rental Assistance Demonstration program and support from the city of Chicago, the CHA said.
Wilson said the CHA has to do a better job of maintaining its properties.
“It seems like more and more, they’re trying to do less of it. And the people who need CHA the most are the most vulnerable in our community,” Wilson said. “So they should be doing over and beyond, not subpar, in providing housing for folks.”
