The Piedmont Housing Authority broke ground Aug. 18 for its new office location on the former Kimberly-Clarke property.The Craig Avenue property is just a few hundred feet from the authority’s current office.
Executive Director Keith Word said the new facility would give the administrative office some “much-needed growing room.” The current office space of 1800 square feet is not nearly enough for the nine full-time employees operating from its desks, Word said.
The new 5704-square-foot building will provide employees with six offices, a conference room, file room and storage space.
In addition, the new 25-space parking lot will dwarf the current office’s eight-space parking lot, Word said. The added space will also provide additional handicap-accessible parking and accessibility to the building.
Purchased in 2006 for $125,000 from Piedmont Mayor Charlie Fagan, the six-acre property includes a 2400-square-foot building constructed of partial brick and metal. Word said the building was an “added bonus” to the property because it will provide the authority with an overflow space for its current maintenance building located on Oak Street.
Word said the authority’s staff would be pleasantly surprised at the amount of space it will have as soon as construction is complete. “We’re not going to know what to do,” Word said. “Everybody’s going to have so much more room.”
Plans for the old building, which was built in 1970, are to renovate its interior into an open space for use as a community center for Housing Authority residents and the city. Word said he hopes to get some regular activities planned for the community center, including monthly lunches for senior citizens.
Hubert Alford Construction of Hokes Bluff obtained the contract for the new building at a bid price of $901,000. Word said funding for the project comes from federal Housing and Urban Development revenue, as well as some additional money the Piedmont authority has been saving for several years.
The city of Piedmont helped with the project by installing 66-foot piping to fill in a large ditch that used to run directly in front of the property. The piping was purchased by the Housing Authority. The ditch previously posed a hazard to passing motorists along the curve of the road that runs in front of the property, Word said.
Fagan, who took part in the groundbreaking, said he is pleased to see that Housing Authority continuing to grow and the potential the community center in the old building brings to residents.
“It’s the Housing Authority investing in Piedmont and we need that,” Fagan said. “It’s great because this means movement, construction and growth for Piedmont.”
Word said construction is expected to be complete by April.
