'It is beyond time': Rep. Rick Allen renews call for action on Bon Air apartments' issues

U.S. Rep. Rick Allen is not letting up on the issues at Bon Air Apartments, according to his May 5 letter to Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge.

"A housing issue of this magnitude will have no easy answers, but the Bon Air residents have waited far too long for owners and management to step up and address these critical issues," he wrote. "It is beyond time for all partners involved in providing safe and affordable housing at this location to take action."

This letter represented a renewed call for action on the apartment complex that has turned a historic building into dilapidated housing over the years.

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Allen visited the property in November, when he met with the management company, Redwood Housing Partners, to discuss improvements. It was there that Redwood promised to ensure the necessary renovations.

In his letter, Allen reported Redwood had failed to receive grant funding and it would be months before a renovation plan could even be provided, let alone start renovations.

The representative goes on to explain that, meanwhile, residents continue to contact his office reporting unsafe living conditions including rats, bedbugs, gun shots and a urine-like odor.

Allen has requested a cache of records be issued no later than May 22 regarding accountability of Bon Air's issues and that HUD representatives return to Augusta for another property tour and community roundtable in the near future.

Both Bon Air and Richmond Summitt were built as luxury hotels in the early 1920s. Since the early 1980s, they've operated as unit-based Section 8 housing that's now restricted to people with disabilities or over age 62.

Allen's full letter is available to read online at allen.house.gov.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: U.S. Rep. Rick Allen calls for change at Bon Air apartments in Augusta