woodsedge1 120Lansing Housing Authority (LHA) Board Member and Secretary Connie Wilcox reported Wednesday that Woodsedge is at full capacity and running smoothly.  She said the board has considered expansions, including a second 40 unit building plus an expansion of the existing community room.

"Woodsedge is at full occupancy," she told the Lansing Town Board.  "One bedroom apartments have a waiting list of 20 potential tenants, and six are waiting for two-bedroom apartments.  Don't let that throw you off.  They like to maintain a waiting list of at least 13 people for one-bedroom apartments and three for two-bedrooms."

Wilcox reported that a division of CRM, which manages Woodsedge, conducted a needs study to determine whether another building should be added.  But the study found there is not enough need to construct another 40 unit building.

"I think people want to be closer to the city where they can walk to things and where they can have public transportation," she said.  "So there are no plans for additional buildings at this point in time.

But she noted that the demographic of Woodsedge residents has changed, with some as young as 55 years old being attracted to the facility.  She said the seniors in the building are a very active group, and with younger residents there are more activities.

"If every one of them comes to an event there is not room for them all to fit," Wilcox said.  "So we're looking at that possibility, but in order to do that we will need a capital needs assessment done.  We would like to use reserve funds from Rural Development to do this rather than having to borrow any more money."

She noted that LHA incurred debt for a $240,000 project to add a full sized elevator to the facility.  The project included an enclosure for a standard hydraulic elevator, some minor indoor changes and the elevator itself.  It was paid for by a subsidized loan, but interest payments meant a rent rise.

woodsede communityroomLHA would like to enlarge the community room, but not if it means a rent hike.

Wilcox said the authority does not want another significant rent hike to pay to enlarge the community room.  She said the assessment has been completed, and some upgrade needs have been identified within the building.

"The building is very well maintained," she said.  "Everything is in great shape there.  Part of that is we have a great board, and part because we have a great tenants association that keeps things up to date."

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