Cleaning Granite Countertops

Groves at Mile Branch tenants to begin moving in this weekend

SCOTT THRELKELD / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE Anthony Babb of Hico Inc., give the paint a touch-up on a screened-in porch Tuesday, June 28, 2011, at The Groves at Mile Branch in Covington. The Groves at Mile Branch, photographed Tuesday, June 28, 2011, is a mixed-income development in Covington. The first units of the place, which is touted as affordable workforce housing, will be open by July.

The 94 apartments of the Groves, still largely under construction on 15 acres adjacent to the city limits, are expected to be filled by year's end. Still to come in the $24 million development are 35 single-family homes that will be built along the perimeter of the site, but that could take another year or more.

Seventy percent of the apartments, 66, will be affordable housing, with rents based on income levels. The other 30 percent, 28, will be leased at "market'' rates, with a one-bedroom starting at $700 and a three-bedroom going for $900 monthly.

"That might actually be a couple hundred dollars below what you'd find'' on the open market, said Victor Smeltz, executive director of Renaissance Neighborhood Development Corp., a subsidiary of Volunteers of America, which is developing the complex.

During a tour of the site Tuesday, Smeltz and others involved with the development said it aims to provide housing for a range of occupants who might otherwise have to commute into the parish because they cannot find affordable housing.

"There's a broad range of opportunities for people to live here,'' he said, citing applicants from the St. Tammany Parish School Board, area hospitals and the Sheriff's Office.

The apartments offer amenities such as granite countertops, porches, balconies and stacked washers and dryers. The complex will also offer parks, meeting and computer rooms, a community center and some counseling services. Finished in a range of bright colors, the "modified Craftsman'' design, Smeltz said, aims to evoke old Covington construction with a few modern twists here and there.

Smeltz said development officials have worked in recent months to quell any misgivings area residents might have about the Groves or mixed-income housing in general.

"There's still a lot of questions,'' he said. "Frankly, there's a lot of angst.''

The Groves, which is currently seeking annexation into the Covington city limits, was an issue in this spring's mayoral race, as was the concept of mixed-income housing.

In fact, an advertisement from candidate Mike Cooper questioning candidate Maureen "Moe'' Clary's role in the venture and claiming that it was developed without input from Covington police, firefighters or citizens, prompted a formal ethics complaint from Clary, who finished a distant second in the election.

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