RHA plans for Garfield-Eliot moving to next phase

REVERE – Housing Authority planners are refining their ideas for redeveloping the Garfield Avenue and Eliot Road residential building, now home to 49 seniors.Authority Director Linda Marie Shaw wants local residents to participate in planning the redevelopment along with municipal and local elected officials.”RHA’s desire is to add additional units to the area and modernize or rebuild the living units at that site,” Shaw said.Last September, Shaw estimated the reconstruction of the aging housing complex could cost $6 million. The Authority has applied for a $75,000 grant to study Eliot-Garfield’s reconstruction.Shaw estimated the study could take about 18 months to conduct. Authority officials have discussed selling five properties the agency owns on Hichborn Street and Nahant Avenue to help finance Garfield-Eliot’s reconstruction.Garfield-Eliot is one of several projects the Authority hopes to undertake this year including extensive repairs on Liston Towers. The Liston work includes exterior repair to eliminate building flooding and renovations to make eight apartments handicapped accessible.Carl Hyman Towers needs decking replacement and roof repair work and other major projects include converting heating oil burners in 88 residences on Cooledge Street and Constitution Avenue to natural gas.Other renovation projects include siding replacement, bathroom modernizations and mold removal on Rose and Pomona streets. Authority workers also plan to repair stairways at Constitution and Cooledge residences and improve lighting around these buildings.