By KERI CHAMPION

Staff Reporter

LAPLACE- The St. John the Baptist Parish Housing Authority recently voted to ask for authorization from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to demolish four federal housing units damaged by arson fires last summer.

The four units were part of two housing developments run by the government. The units are both duplexes.

Two units in the 56- unit Garyville development will be demolished and two in the 100-unit Reserve development will also be torn down, pending HUD’s approval.

&#8220The resolution allowing the request for demolition to the units will be subject to the bid application if the demolition is approved by HUD. It is very likely the HUD decision will come in the next few weeks,” said Lawand Johnson, deputy director of the St. John Parish Housing Authority.

Johnson said it would only make sense to approve the demolition, since the estimated cost to repair the four units is over five times more costly than it would be to tear them down. The estimated cost to demolish the building is $24,000. The estimated cost to repair them was $152,000.

The plan to raze the duplexes is actually in accordance with efforts to reconstruct and modernize the units in the Reserve and Garyville complexes.

With grant and loan monies distributed to the parish by the Louisiana Housing Finance Authority (LHFA), the parish is planning to spend millions of dollars to renovate apartments in LaPlace and Edgard and modernize the Reserve and Garyville units.

&#8220When a unit is in a modernization process, the unit is entirely gutted and everything is replaced with new carpets, lights, energy-efficient appliances and other amenities to meet housing and energy standards,” Johnson said.

&#8220It’s possible that part of the money could go toward building new low-income single family homes as well, since there is an immediate need for them in the parish,” she said.

The Housing Authority is trying to make rental information available to the public for viewing. The online listing should be up in a few weeks.

&#8220Currently, there is no way the average person looking to rent can find a home available. It’s like finding a needle in a haystack. It will be easier to find rental properties if they are online. LHFA is helping finance the online initiatives,” she said.

The Housing Authority is also offering a Landlord workshop on Saturday, Feb. 24 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. The purpose of the workshop is to inform potential landlords of the rules and requirements of renting federal properties, state inspection laws, and to inform them of LHFA programs.

Every month the Housing Authority offers a workshop for kids and moms to spend time together. The children can take time to read one-on one with their parents on the last Tuesday or Wednesday of the month.