August 26, 2014 – Times Staff
Demolition begins today on the last section of Hammond Housing Authority’s Columbia Center.
Built in 1942, Columbia Center originally had 400 units.
The demolition makes way for Flagstone Village, the fifth and final phase of new housing at the 40-acre site in Hammond’s South Side. Flagstone Village will have 76 units, all one and two bedrooms.
There will be four types of new one- and two-story structures. A community center, set back from the 173rd and Columbia Avenue corner will serve all five properties at the site.
As with each of the prior four developments, Flagstone Village will provide needed affordable housing. A key element of the $14.2 million project is the use of an allocation of Low-Income Housing Tax Credits by the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority.
Flagstone Village is being developed by Homestead Enterprise Housing, which was also the developer for each of the previous four phases. HEH is the nonprofit instrumentality of HHA, using a HUD-promoted method for providing good housing in communities throughout the US.
As with other phases, Flagstone Village is private housing open to households of a broad range of incomes. Many units have special subsidy arrangements, ensuring affordability to low-income individuals and families.
“We are proud to be able to offer new affordable housing for our residents,” Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. said. “It’s been a long time coming.”