Published: October 02, 2008 11:33 pm         

Scope Towers reverting to original use

As current tenants leave, qualifying disabled and elderly will fill apartments

ASHLAND — Scope Towers is returning to what it originally was: Twin, high-rise apartment buildings for the elderly and disabled.

The Housing Authority of Ashland’s experiment with leasing the one-bedroom and studio apartments to qualified persons 18 and older simply has not worked, Executive Director Rick Young said.

The two buildings that make up Scope Towers, in the 3100 block of Winchester Avenue, were built in the early 1970s as federally subsidized housing units for the elderly and disabled and for many years the apartments were offered exclusively to those who fit one of those categories. But as time passed, more and more of the apartments were vacant for longer periods of time.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development told the Housing Authority that, since it was unable to fill all the apartments with elderly and disabled people, it needed to offer them to eligible adults 18 and older, Young said.

While the decision was made long before he was named executive director, Young said the Housing Authority’s board went along with HUD’s directive.

Now that same board has asked for HUD’s approval to allow Scope Towers to again be available only to residents who are 55 and older or who are disabled.

“Having older adults and young couples living next to each other is not a good fit,” Young said. “They have different interests, enjoy different types of music and go in and out at different times of the day. They do not mix well.”

The switch back to an apartment complex exclusively for the elderly and disabled will be done through attrition.

“We are not going to be evicting anyone because they are too young or are not disabled, but as they move out, we will be replacing them with older and disabled tenants,” Young said.

Young said he thinks the improvements the Housing Authority have made in the twin towers, plus the fact that the older residents will not be bothered by young neighbors, will again make the apartments attractive to enough elderly and disabled people to fill all the units.

The Housing Authority is in the process of making 19 apartments completely handicapped accessible, including large bathrooms and lower cabinets. In addition, a lot of cleaning, painting and repairing has been taking place in recent months, Young said.

“If you haven’t been by Scope Towers recently, you should stop by and see what we have done,” he said. “You may be surprised at what has been accomplished.”

The Housing Authority also is working on alleviating another long-standing problem at Scope Towers: An excessive number of fire alarms.

Young said he has been told about 25 percent of the Ashland Fire Department’s costs of responding to alarms is a result of runs to Scope Towers.

“Most of the fire alarms are going off for the right reasons,” Young said. They are often a result of smoke from residents overcooking their food or not properly venting their stoves.

Young said 10 apartments that have set off the most alarms have been identified and the residents have been given smoke detectors that should alert them of the smoke problem before the fire alarms are activated. Ultimately, he hopes to install sprinkler systems in both towers, which were built before sprinklers were required.

The Housing Authority fully recognizes that the number of fire calls to Scope Towers is a problem that is a strain on the city’s budget, Young said.

“We’re looking closely with the fire department on this problem,” he said. “We’ve relocated one fire alarm and are taking other measures that hopefully will reduce the number of calls to Scope Towers without sacrificing the safety of our residents.”

JOHN CANNON can be reached at jcannon@dailyindependent.com or at (606) 326-2649.

     

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