Catholic Charities Archdiocese of Oklahoma City

News Articles

Columbia Square Apartment renovation begins

March 21, 2007

Public Information Office
Contact: Connie Blaney, Public Information Director
Or Jane Moon, Administrative Assistant -- 405-523-3000
Or Chris Nervig, Senior Project Developer, Mercy Housing Inc.-- 719-648-6701

A groundbreaking ceremony will be held on Thursday, March 22 at 1:30 p.m. at Columbia Square Apartments in Lawton, Tim O'Connor, Executive Director of Catholic Charities, has announced. The public is invited to attend.

"This is a celebration of four years of planning and the actual beginning of demolition and new construction for this renewed housing development," O'Connor stated. "We're excited that this is finally coming to fruition and the residents will see concrete results with the first new units in October of 2007," he added. The construction project is expected to be completed in December of 2008.

The 64-unit Columbia Square Apartments, which was originally built in the 1970s, will be demolished to the foundation and rebuilt, offering new and affordable two-and three-bedroom apartments. The renovation will be done in phases allowing construction to take place with minimal effect on the residents. The complex has 10 separate buildings and a community building with management office. Units will be left vacant as people move out to allow the buildings to be empty when construction begins. Columbia Square is located at Northwest 4th Street and Columbia Avenue in Lawton.

Representatives attending the ceremony will include all the collaborative partners, as well as Lawton city officials, legislators, and others. Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and Mercy Housing, national non-profit housing developer, are the lead development partners in this project. Financing is being provided by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Enterprise Community Investment, Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency, Federal Home Loan Bank of Topeka, Bank of Oklahoma and Catholic Charities. Gorman Management, who was hired in 2003, will continue to manage the complex.

Chris Nervig, Mercy Housing senior project developer, said she is pleased with the progress underway. "When Mercy Housing was able to receive an allocation of low income housing tax credits through the Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency to make the project financially viable, we were able to move forward," she said. The property had already received a funding commitment from HUD under the Mark-to-Market and (d)4 programs. Mercy Housing has been the consultant for several other affordable housing projects in Muskogee, Pawnee and Fletcher. Nervig and other Mercy Housing executives traveled to Oklahoma several times in the past year to work out the details of Columbia Square. "We commend the work of Catholic Charities and their leadership role in this effort. Without the strong local and state partners in both financing and ownership, this property would have a very bleak future," Chris Nervig stated.

HUD is especially proud of its involvement in the rehab of this project. Through a special energy initiative, they are providing over $600,000 in energy efficiency and "green" items in the rehab of this project. These range from energy-efficient windows and appliances, the use of low formaldehyde plywood in framing and cabinets, to water-permeable paving and foam insulation.

Catholic Charities has recently conducted several meetings in Lawton with the Catholic churches and with community agencies like Great Plains Improvement Foundation and the Lawton Housing Authority on roles and responsibilities of each organization in providing services to the residents.

Becky VanPool, Director of Parish Outreach for Catholic Charities, stated, "The role of our Catholic churches, along with the St. Vincent de Paul conferences, will be to offer services that are not being provided by the other agencies. This will include tutoring, holiday parties, summer activities, and mentoring programs.

The Lawton Office of Catholic Charities will provide a resident services coordinator who will assist the residents with various needs ranging from counseling and job training to coordinating services with other agencies in the community, explained Suzanne Smart, Associate Director of Family Support for Catholic Charities. An office at the apartments will provide room for various agencies to provide assistance to the residents. A "resident board" as well as a "community advisory board" are to be developed creating a greater sense of ownership and community support for Columbia Square.

The new Columbia Square will provide a more modern, energy-efficient and family friendly apartment complex, complete with two playgrounds, a computer lab for residents, and a community room. One of the playgrounds will be designed for children up to 5 years old, while the other will be for ages 6 to 12. When complete, Columbia Square will offer 14 two-bedroom apartments and 50 three-bedroom apartments, according to Chris Nervig, Mercy Housing.

Nervig note that Columbia Square provides for people most in need of affordable housing. She said the average annual income at Columbia Square is below poverty level with 85 percent of the families made up of single parents with children. "With Lawton continuing to grow in the next few years, the need for affordable housing is great," Nervig said.

Tim O'Connor said that Columbia Square was originally developed through the efforts of the late Mr. J.C. Kennedy, a Catholic who served for 31 years as chairman of the board for Goodwill in Lawton and who was influential in politics. Kennedy had support of Father Wade Darnell, who at the time was pastor of Blessed Sacrament Church in Lawton. The complex was supported by the Church, which obtained the land from Lawton Public Schools. Kennedy was successful in receiving a HUD construction and permanent loan, along with a Section 8 project-specific contract for construction and ongoing operation of the complex.