Demolition begins on RI's Manor Homes

Rick Haney fondly recalledchildhood memories Wednesday of life in Manor Homesin the early 1950s when the Rock Island housing project wasnew.

One of two sons of Korean War veteran John "J.W." Haney and his wife, Betty, he said the family was among the early residents of barracks-style housing complex, living there for about three years while his father worked at the Rock Island Arsenal.

"But time moves on," he said just minutes before an excavator tore with ease through the roof and sidewall of one of Manor Homes' buildings.

The Rock Island Housing Authority complex, located on more than four acres at9th Street and 26th Avenue, is being demolished to make way for a new Lynden Lane housing subdivision being built by the housing agency. As part ofthe authority's2008/2009 Asset Management Plan, it was determined that the property needed to be replaced because of its declining condition.

"It's so weird to watch this; you work so hard to keep these buildings up,"authority executive director Susan Anderson said as she watched crews begin what will be a four-week demolition process. "But you've got to see it go to get to the new one."

The complex, built in 1952, was at capacity with 102 families 346 individuals when the demolition was announced in April 2012, said Gail Brooks, the authority's public relations coordinator.

"The relocation was complete the 1st of November with 24 homeowners coming out of this. That was awesome," she said, adding that 53 people were moved out of subsidized housing. The vast majority of Manor Homes residents were refugees from Myanmar (formerly Burma), and most of them became homeowners.

Anderson said the Lynden Lane neighborhood will have 55single-family and townhomes as well as new streets and infrastructure, including water, sewer, gas and electric lines. "It will be a whole new layout," she added.

While the majority of the rental homes will be built at 2601 7th St., two additional four-bedroom homes will be constructed on parcels about 1.5 miles northeast of the Manor Homes site. The new homes will be one- and two-story wood-frame homes, similar to the single-family starter homes and duplexes in the area.

Morrissey Construction Co. of Godfrey, Ill., is in charge of demolition and construction of the new development, which is expected to take two years.

See more here:
Demolition begins on RI's Manor Homes