The promise of affordable housing has dawned on the capital’s south side as the Tallahassee Housing Authority officially cut the ribbon on Columbia Gardens at South City .
Dozens of local elected officials and others, such as THA Executive Director Brenda Williams and President of Columbia Residential Carmen Chubb, gathered at the new apartment complex.
The project not only marks the focus of housing opportunity in Tallahassee, which has become a point of contention between the city and the county , but also projects taking place on the south side such as the Southside Transit Center .
“This is a way for families to … take a step up. They were living in horrific conditions and to be able to offer them a brand new apartment … is really uplifting,” Williams said in an interview with the Tallahassee Democrat.
Columbia Gardens is now where the Orange Avenue Apartments, built in 1972, once stood. That property had fallen into disrepair and the authority orchestrated a massive redevelopment. Several years ago , the agency provided its master plan to demolish and rebuild the property.