Monroe Housing Preservation Mills Ribbon Cutting/Open House

William V. Smart, Executive Director, announced that Monroe Housing Authority (MHA) will celebrate the completion of Phase I of Preservation Mills with a ribbon cutting ceremony and open house on Thursday, October 29th. The ribbon cutting ceremony will be held at 9:30 a.m. at 1312 South 4th Street, and the open house will immediately follow. The public is invited and light refreshments will be served. Social distancing will be practiced. We ask that all attendees wear masks. Preservation Mills is a housing infill project consisting of 23 newly constructed single-family homes. These homes were developed in a neighborhood situated between Peach Street and Beauregard Street along South 3rd and 4th Street. This project is part of a Neighborhood Revitalization effort, through partnership with the City of Monroe. Each home consists of three bedrooms, two bathrooms, an open concept floor plan, and attached carport. The homes were designed in a style reminiscent of the architecture that existed when the neighborhood was first developed. The architect for this project is Tim Brandon Architecture. The General Contractor is Damon Mayfield, D&L of Ouachita, Inc. dba Mayfield Construction. Monroe Housing Authority wishes to acknowledge and express appreciation to Progressive Bank and Bancorp South for their support for this project. Funding for this $3.5 million dollar project was received through competitive grant applications to Louisiana Housing Corporation and the Louisiana Neighborhood Landlord Rental Program. In addition to the $3.5 million dollar investment for new home construction, MHA has also invested over $200,000 for land acquisitions, demolition and site clearing. Should additional funding become available, plans are to develop additional homes in the near future. Initially, these homes will be made available for lease for a period of five years. Afterwards, these homes will be offered for sale. Mr. Smart stated, "In addition to the opportunity to help revitalize this once beautiful and thriving community, the homeownership component is extremely important to us. We are grateful for this chance to bring a quality, affordable homeownership opportunity to families with modest incomes. Our goal is to provide renters with homeownership workshops, financial education, credit repair counseling, career development, and other supportive services during the five-year rental period, with the ultimate goal of helping those who are interested become first-time homebuyers." For additional information contact William V. Smart, Executive Director, Monroe Housing Authority 300 Harrison Street, Monroe, LA 318-388-1500 ext. 310, [email protected].