By Brianna Bailey
Oklahoma City reporter – Contact 405-278-2847
Posted: 06:53 PM Thursday, June 2, 2011

Cherrie Baker, a resident of the Wesley Village Apartments. (Maike Sabolich)

OKLAHOMA CITY – Wesley Village Apartments resident Cherrie Baker says she loves living at the Midtown subsidized housing complex on a tree-lined street, but the place could use some work.

For the past three summers, Baker, who is legally blind, has had problems keeping her first-floor apartment cool. She has been relying on a network of ceiling and electric floor fans strategically placed around her home for the past week while waiting for a broken cooling unit in the ceiling to be repaired.

“I like it here and don’t want to move, but I have to essentially sit here and sweat in the summertime,” said Baker, who has lived at Wesley Village for the past eight years.

Built in 1920 as Wesley Hospital, the Wesley Village complex at 300 NW 12th St. was converted into rent-subsidized housing for seniors and the disabled in the 1980s. Today, Wesley Village residents say the aging four-story brick building needs repairs. A developer hopes to buy the complex and renovate it with the aid of federal affordable housing tax credits, according to an Oklahoma City Council memo. Oklahoma City has pledged its support to the project and offered $14,000 in block grant funding from the federal HOME Investment Partnerships Program for the renovations.

Wesley Village residents receive rental assistance through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Resident Javon Belk moved into a studio apartment at Wesley Village about a month ago from an emergency homeless shelter for senior citizens run by the nonprofit Sunbeam Family Services after his left foot was amputated above the ankle because of an infection.

Belk said he is happy to have a place of his own, but Wesley Village could use some renovation work, including more wheelchair-friendly cabinets in the kitchen. He also has to spray regularly for roaches, Belk said.

“This place is fantastic, but they do have a bit of a roach problem,” he said.

Lyn Goss, chief executive officer of the Tulsa property management company LynCo Properties Inc., which manages Wesley Village, said the building’s heating and cooling system is out of date and needs a complete overhaul.

“It’s just an old building,” she said. “It’s a very worthwhile property that serves the needs of the elderly and disabled downtown.”

The building is owned by a partnership of investors spread across Wisconsin, Indiana and Oklahoma. LynCo has managed the property since 1984.

The Oklahoma City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to support the plans of Wesley Housing Associates LP to acquire the 85-unit Wesley complex and apply for federal affordable housing tax credits through the Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency to renovate the building.

The company plans to spend about $40,000 per unit to renovate Wesley Village, Oklahoma City Councilwoman Meg Salyer said.

“It’s a wonderful project and a great addition to the community,” she said.

Attempts to contact Wesley Housing Associates were unsuccessful on Tuesday. The limited partnership was formed in April in Oklahoma through a professional process agent, according to state records.

The Oklahoma Housing Finance Authority has not received Wesley Housing Associates’ application for the affordable housing tax credit program yet, said Diana Rogers Jaeger, assistant director of communications for OHFA. The company has until July 7 to apply, she said.