COVINGTON, Ky. — Covington is now home to one less affordable housing complex.
The last remaining residents moved out of City Heights this week, leaving the 366-unit public housing community empty.
Community Housing Authority Executive Director Steve Arlinghaus said a five-year-old assessment showed the complex needed a lot of repairs.
“We came to the realization that it’s going to take over $50 million to improve the buildings and bring them up to modernization,” Arlinghaus said.
The report found structural issues, a deteriorating sewage system and slippage from a nearby hillside, which has aided in the deterioration of gas and heating pipes in the complex.
He said the federal government didn’t want to pay to fix it, so they were forced to move families out.
“We made sure they could find some affordable housing elsewhere outside of the community, so the majority of the folks have stayed within the City of Covington,” he said.
Arlinghaus said about a third of the tenants moved to Cincinnati and others moved out of the midwest.
In a letter written by Arlinghaus, he wrote that eligible families received more than $270,000 to help them move, which averages between $1,100-1,700 per family based on household size. Several families also received financial support from the city through ARPA funds to pay off utility debt.
He said they plan to cash in on the property by selling it.
“Initial investment or assessment of the property, it came in about $9 million but they also recognize there’s perhaps $3 million in demolition needs it’s going to take to land one out to make it buildable for another development,” he said.
Arlinghaus said they will use the net proceeds to invest in current properties. They plan to modernize Latonia Terrace and Golden Tower.
“In our case, we’re not in a position to build more affordable housing. What we’re looking to do is take care of what we currently have and trying to bring it up to the standards as best we can to make it more accommodating, and sanitary and safe for our residents to live in here,” Arlinghaus said.
He said the property won’t be ready for sale until this summer or early fall.
