Linwood apartment renovation project more than halfway complete

Anya Clifford has seen a lot of change since taking the job as property manager of a 92-building apartment complex in south Wichita.

On Wednesday the Residences at Linwood, 2008 S. Hydraulic, will host a public grand opening of the completion of more than half of the renovations to the 23-acre property that in recent years fell into major disrepair and had been mostly abandoned.

The grand opening will be from noon to 4 p.m. at the complex at the southeast corner of Mount Vernon and Hydraulic and will include a ribbon-cutting and free food.

The event will mark the completion of 47 of the complex’s 92 buildings that house four apartments each.

“It really helps the morale of south Wichita in a time when we’re tearing down buildings left and right because they are dilapidated,” said city council member James Clendenin, whose district includes the Linwood property. “I would love to see this all over south Wichita.”

It was in December 2011 that MH Development acquired the property with Clifford as its manager. She said total occupancy at the time was about 10 percent, and almost half of the 92 buildings were boarded up.

“For decades it (had) been a rundown piece of property in disrepair,” Clendenin said.

The first wave of work included interior renovations and repairs to 47 buildings that house 180 apartment units, Clifford said. That meant some brick work, new roofs and new plumbing and electrical systems for each building. She said because it was a historical renovation it stretched the construction time line.

“It took us 18 months to get (renovations for) our windows to be approved,” Clifford said. “We’ve kept a lot of the original windows and doors. Even the paint colors had to be approved.”

Original construction on the Linwood buildings began in 1948 and was completed around 1952. The apartments were built by the Garvey family to house aircraft workers and soldiers returning from World War II.

Renovations also included new tile flooring in the kitchen and bath. She said where workers could, they kept the original hardwood floors. Where the hardwood floors were too far gone, carpet was installed, Clifford added.

Each apartment unit — in studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom configurations — also comes with new appliances, including a washer and dryer. Rent for the apartments are on a sliding scale based on residents’ income. The apartments are primarily targeted at low-income residents, Clifford said.

Of the apartments that have been renovated, all have been leased, she said.

Linwood leasing agent Erika Anderson said “we’ve pre-leased a lot” of the 45 buildings and 176 units under renovation now.

Market rates range from $375 a month for a studio up to $550 a month for a two-bedroom unit.

MH Development, which is a group that includes Murfin Inc. and other local, silent investors, was approved about two years ago by the Wichita City Council for a $7 million industrial revenue bond issue for the project. A city official said Monday that the IRBs were for a sales tax exemption on construction materials, instead of a property tax exemption.

The project is expected to be complete in mid-2015, Clifford said.

This story was originally published September 22, 2014 at 5:11 PM with the headline "Linwood apartment renovation project more than halfway complete."