New Washington Street housing will be ready for fall semester
Construction that began May 1 on three new houses on Washington Street will be completed by the time classes begin in the fall.
The houses are located between Clayton and Bellows streets.
The builder and developer for all the projects, Joe Olivieri, said the 3-4 month timetable he had to build is standard compared to other construction projects he has headed in the past.
“I’ve been doing this for 37 years, so that’s pretty much what my summers have always been like — building apartments or housing after the school year and getting them done before school starts,” he said.
Two houses were demolished to create space for new ones, 1008 and 1010 S. Washington St., while 1006 S. Washington St. is being built on land that was previously used as an overflow parking lot for apartment tenants at 1020 S. Washington St.
“What was there had reached the point where, it would take so much money to fix them up, it was better spending the money to tear them down and build them new,” Olivieri said.
The house at 1008 S. Washington St. will be able to house nine occupants, an increase from five occupants at the previous house.
The house at 1010 S. Washington St. was built for nine occupants, an increase from the six allowed previously.
Olivieri said he thinks the houses will be a major hit for students.
“Everyone likes new,” he said. “People like new cars, people like new clothes and people like new houses. They’re more energy efficient and they’re just nicer overall. They have nicer bathrooms, larger bedrooms, better parking, better trash facilities and the biggest single thing is location. People like to live close to where they work, and for a college student, it’s the same thing (living close to school).”
United Apartments will own and manage the three new houses, but owner Rick McGuirk declined to comment because of company policy.
