Demolition is underway at Swanson Homes, a public housing complex in Portsmouth’s Prentis Park neighborhood that housed generations of families for more than 80 years.
The Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority says work crews are currently tearing down interior structures of the complex. Executive Director Alisa Winston said Swanson Homes has been part of the community since 1941, but saving the building was not an option because the property is outdated.
“I don’t think it was physically responsible to maintain that property. It was a lot of work that needed to be done. The systems were outdated and, quite frankly, just reached its life expectancy. So the board of directors here at PRHA and HUD determined that it wasn’t the best,” Winston said…