Chattanooga's largest public housing high-rise site for seniors to get renovation this spring

Earl Ayers, maintenance service manager for the Chattanooga Housing Authority, talks Wednesday, April 20, 2016 about renovations that will be made in one of the Boynton Terrace buildings.
Earl Ayers, maintenance service manager for the Chattanooga Housing Authority, talks Wednesday, April 20, 2016 about renovations that will be made in one of the Boynton Terrace buildings.
photo Old plumbing will be replaced when apartments are renovated in one of the Boynton Terrace buildings.

The largest public housing high-rise site for seniors will have one of its three apartment buildings renovated starting this spring.

"We're basically shutting down one building," Jim Sattler said. "We're going in and remodeling with cabinets, appliances and doors and paint; just fixing it up so that it looks nice."

Sattler, vice president of the Chattanooga Housing Authority board of commissioners, was among four commissioners who on Wednesday unanimously approved a $3.45 million contract with Wild Building Construction and an additional $500,000 contingency amount to be managed by the CHA staff for a total of $3.95 million.

The contract is to renovate the 87-unit, 953 building in Boynton Apartments. The 953 building is one of three towers making up the 250-unit site.

Construction is expected to start by June and will be complete within eight to 12 months, said CHA Executive Director Betsy McCright.

When finished, the 953 building will have new electrical upgrades, heating and air, closet shelving, floor covering and a new sprinkler system.

"It's going to make it a better place to live," McCright said.

But some Boynton residents say they wished they had some say in the windows and door locks used for the renovation. Instead of getting locks that lock when the door closes, senior residents would prefer locks that require a key to secure the door. Having a door that required a key to lock means that seniors won't lock themselves out of their rooms and have to pay a fine for re-entrance. And residents are concerned they will get windows that don't open like Dogwood Manor residents.

"We're excited about the renovation, but what about the non-opening windows," said Boynton resident Joe Clark, Resident Advisory board member. "The windows don't open in Dogwood but a lot of residents have emphysema and they need air."

A CHA maintenance employee said if all goes as planned, Boynton will get windows that provide better insulation from heat and cold, but they don't open.

It will be the first major renovation to Boynton Terrace Apartments since it was built in 1971.

The site got a less costly renovation in 2010. Housing officials used about $650,000 from its general fund to make 13 apartments in the 250-unit development handicap accessible for people in wheelchairs or scooters and another five units to accommodate residents with hearing or seeing disabilities.

The upcoming renovation is funded through low-income tax credits.

Housing officials say it has no funding in place to renovate the other Boynton buildings.

All CHA board members approved the $3.45 million contract, but some of them had concerns because Wild's contract was more than $1 million less than the next least expensive bid.

Other bids included P&C Construction Inc. at $4,698,586 and Lubin Enterprises Inc. at $5,095,722.

Commissioner Jim Steffes said he was "bothered" by Wild's bid.

"It looks to me like somebody didn't understand what they were bidding," he said. "I'm all about getting a big discount, but I'm just a little nervous."

Wild Building Construction President David Wild, who attended the board meeting, answered back, saying Wild Construction has been working on housing since 1984, and "we are very comfortable with our number and the time frame."

Wild said one reason his bid was lower was because his fee for an electrical contractor was less.

CHA project manager Lonnie Edwards said he was so concerned about the difference in pricing that he and others investigated to make sure Wild Building Construction could do the work and the company understood the discrepancy.

He said Wild has worked for housing authorities in Murfreesboro, Birmingham, Ala., and Johnson City, and people from all the sites said "they were happy with Wild, with their performance and they didn't have any heartburn about recommending them."

Edwards said he also requested Wild submit a letter of assurance that Wild Building Construction "had indeed reviewed the numbers and they were sure that they could perform the job at the price submitted."

Contact staff writer Yolanda Putman at yputman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6431.

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