Three U.S. lawmakers presented the Housing Authority of the City of College Park with $3.15 million on June 8 to help renovate Attick Towers, a 54-year-old federally subsidized apartment building for low-income seniors and tenants with disabilities.
The renovations, which began in 2023, are expected to cost approximately $16 million.
During her introduction of the visiting lawmakers, College Park Housing Authority CEO Michelle Johnson grew emotional, at times stifling tears.
“It warms my heart,” Johnson said. “We work every day and we see our residents every single day here, and we see what they deserve, and what the building deserves, and the future people that live in it. We understand what they deserve, and under my watch, I want to make it happen.”
The 108-unit public housing building, located across the street from the Branchville Volunteer Fire Department, is slated for a new roof, boiler and fencing, and upgrades to building generators.
In addition, resident rooms and common areas are being updated to comply with federal accessibility standards for seniors and disabled tenants.
Johnson said the repairs have been needed for years.
“This money is going to assist us with repairs that, if this money wasn’t given to us, we wouldn’t be able to do,” Johnson said.
The Housing Authority previously received $750,000 in funding from the pandemic-era American Rescue Plan Act through the City of College Park.
Previous renovations included replacing more than 170 heating and air conditioning units and modernizing the elevators and piping.
The June 8 allocation is part of a $7.26 million congressionally directed fund acquired by Maryland Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks and District 4 Rep. Glenn Ivey for youth programs, housing projects and nonprofits countywide.
Ivey and Alsobrooks live in Prince George’s County.
Other stops on their day-long tour included the Latin American Youth Center in Riverdale, which got $1.5 million; Ivy Community Charities of Prince George’s County in Suitland, which received $2 million; and William Beanes Elementary School, also in Suitland, which accepted $610,000.
Van Hollen, who lives in Kensington, called Attick Towers a “worthwhile project.”
“We have hundreds of seniors here who we need to ensure live in dignity,” Van Hollen told College Park Here & Now after the event. “We have an affordable housing crisis in Maryland and the country, and that means everybody, but especially people on fixed incomes have a real challenge in making sure they have a place to call home, and so we want to make sure that we renovate this facility.”
Alsobrooks said it was a “joy” to be in College Park to invest in the city’s affordable housing.
College Park Mayor Fazlul Kabir, City Councilmember Kelly Jordan (District 2), Maryland Sen. Jim Rosapepe (District 21) and Prince George’s County Councilmember Eric Olson (District 3) also attended the event.
Jordan said the grant will help Attick Towers “in tremendous ways.”