Featured photo: 1200 Willie Davis Drive in Winston-Salem. (Photo by Gale Melcher)

The city of Winston-Salem has found a contractor to fix up 1200 Willie Davis Drive and 1635 N. Cleveland Ave., two city-owned apartment buildings located in East Winston.

Most of the buildings’ residents are elderly and many have disabilities, paying around $450 per month for their units.

As previously reported by TCB, residents were initially told in February 2023 that they would need to move out of their apartments by the end of May 2023 so the city could perform an “assessment” and renovate both buildings, leaving residents to secure affordable units in a city where the average rent for a 1-bedroom apartment is $1,011 per month, according to Rent.com.

“Where are we going to get the extra money from?” Willie Davis resident Carol Boykins asked in February 2023. “We’re gonna be homeless if we go someplace else and can’t afford the rent.”

Apartments at 1635 N Cleveland Ave. (Photo by Gale Melcher)

After residents and local activists pushed back against the decision, city leadership changed their tune. Residents were allowed to stay while the city assessed the buildings. Repairs for the two buildings were approved by city council in May 2023, with costs not to exceed $750,000. The council also agreed to give tenants 1-year leases at their current rent rate. The new leases began on June 1, 2023 and are set to expire on May 31, 2024.

According to city documents released last week, Risa Home Improvements & Construction, LLC, will be taking on the renovations. The minority-owned business hails from Jamestown.

The $712,857 contract with the business is on the May 14 finance committee meeting’s agenda, when city councilmembers will have the opportunity to vote to recommend the contract for a general city council vote in the future. The money will cover minor demolition, roofing, steel decking repairs, walls and framing, flooring, other interior finishes, plumbing, mechanical, electrical and landscaping, plus coordinating moving residents’ belongings to and from their units. Risa Home Improvements & Construction has been in business for seven years, per the Better Business Bureau, and has been an accredited business since Oct. 18, 2019. One complaint was filed in April 2023 against the company, alleging “unauthorized” change orders, according to the BBB’s website. The company received a $131,000 PPP loan in 2020.

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