The Northwest Georgia Housing Authority hopes to assist the city with plans to demolish and rebuild duplexes on Pennington Avenue, Executive Director Sandra Hudson told the authority’s board Wednesday.
The city had put out a request for proposals to renovate the four vacant duplexes at 412 and 414 Pennington Ave. in South Rome.
When bids came back much higher than federal funding available through the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, the city reapplied to the DCA to instead use the funds for demolition and rebuilding, said Ron Sitterding, the city‘s director of community development and special projects.
The DCA has not yet decided on the second request.
The housing authority, meanwhile, decided to offer financial assistance using renovation funds from the federal department of Housing and Urban Development. Hudson has not yet received written approval from HUD.
If the project goes through as planned, the city will deed the property to the housing authority.
Faulty foundations make demolition and rebuilding more cost effective than renovation, Hudson said.
