Peoples’ Self-Help Housing, a nonprofit organization that helps provide housing for low-income, special needs, elderly, and previously homeless residents, was recently awarded over $1 million to spruce up the Chapel Court Apartments in Carpinteria.
After $526,500 was donated by the Joe Serna, Jr. Farmworker Housing Grant Program (by way of the state’s Housing and Community Development Division), the USDA made a matching donation, bringing the total money raised to $1,053,000.
The Chapel Court Apartments, an almost 40-year-old complex with 28 units, will receive new roofing, gutters, double-pane windows, front and rear doors, exterior lights, and fire sprinkler systems. All of the units are also slated to get new kitchens, bathrooms, appliances, and hot-water heaters.
To help with the planned renovation, dozens of volunteers painted the property’s wooden fencing last month, in conjunction with national NeighborWorks Week.
The upgrades, said John Kukulka, the organization’s director of Rental Property Development, are scheduled to start in October, with completion projected six months later.