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Board hears of high vacancies and renovation costs after failed bond; staff to seek targeted funds
Summary
Staff reported roughly 40 vacancies at the Hamilton, with about 10 units immediately ready to re-rent; major renovations for longtime units consume operating funds, and staff said the failed bond referendum forces piecemeal funding requests instead of a large capital program.
Board members reviewed vacancy and renovation data for the Hamilton building. Staff reported about 40 vacant units with roughly 10 ready to lease once the chiller is installed. "Right now we're at, like, 40 vacancies," a staff member (speaker 6) said, and staff later clarified many vacancies require major renovation work because tenants had remained in place for more than 10 years.
The failure of a previously proposed bond has constrained the department's ability to perform big-ticket upgrades all at once. Staff described approaching the city for smaller, periodic allocations to address the most critical items and said a motion was made to provide cost estimates on high-priority repairs (elevators listed as the next major item). "The bond would have assisted us to do a lot of these things at one time," staff (speaker 2) said; now staff must go to the city 'every six months and plead for a little bit.'
