Excitement for the Mill Creek community's $350 million total makeover continues tonight as residents find out how much it's going to cost them to live where they live now once it transforms from projects to palaces.
Right now, folks at Johnson Towers and Butler Terrace pay 30% of their income to live in Mill Creek. That works out to about $200 to $500 a month.
The City of Â鶹´«Ã½'s Manager of Community Development, Scott Erwin, says the price these folks pay now will allow them to stay. He promises this price will not change.
"The tenants will still pay the percentage of their income that HUD requires," Erwin said.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funds public housing in Mill Creek.
The building's website says Johnson Towers has eight stories with 82 units, and Butler Terrace has 54 buildings with eight apartment units each.
Erwin says the cost of living there varies based on your income, but when this new build is done, no one will be displaced or have to pay more. He says some will just pay different amounts.
"When land becomes tighter, there may be an occasion where individuals have a temporary relocation," Erwin explained. "But, the plans as they are today, allow each individual family to move from their current unit, to a new unit."
The entire community's expected to finish by 2033. Construction will start late next year. When it's done, Erwin says there will be just over 700 units.
Erwin says they plan to move folks in phases. He says they won't tear down any buildings or move anyone until they have a place to move everyone to.
Erwin explained that phase one of construction will take almost a year to build a senior living facility and a universal design building for folks with disabilities.
Once those are done, he says they will move residents into the new buildings all at once.
"They aren't displaced, they aren't pushed away from what they have known as their homes and their neighborhoods," Erwin continued. "So, this allows us to create a neighborhood, a new neighborhood that the same income-level families would have the opportunity to return to."
Erwin says when the tower's demolished, they will open family units closer to Governors Drive. He says the city plans to start relocating residents by the Fall of 2026.
Erwin says there's still a lot of time until that happens. He says they're doing their best to keep residents in the loop.
Right now residents living in Johnson Towers pay 30% of their income. That works out to be about $200 to $500 to live there. City leaders say that price will not change after construction.
