The Housing Authority of St. Mary’s County is $35,400 closer to completing the New Phoenix townhouse project on Shangri-La Drive, across from the library in Lexington Park. The St. Mary’s Board of County Commissioners granted the funds to the Authority on Aug. 8.
HASMC requested the funds be awarded as a grant from the county’s Workforce Housing Initiative Funds. The funds will be used to remove and repour existing deficient slabs and to then install related plumbing. New slabs will prevent future leaks and erosion.
Dennis Nicholson, executive director HASMC, indicated the deficiencies resulted in the ground not being properly prepared when the original slabs were poured in the 1970s.
In a letter to Nicholson, Bob Belden, president Belden Contracting LLC, reported that his company had bored observation holes into the original slabs. He found the slabs appeared to have been poured twice. Fill underneath the slabs had also settled considerably, resulting in fall in excess of 2 inches to 6 feet.
Belden recommended the slabs be replaced as they are load bearing to the second floor. Not replacing the slabs, he said, could compromise new under-slab plumbing, and uneven floors could affect the installation of stairs, cabinets, flooring and appliances.
Nicholson commented the townhouse project could slide by without fixing the slabs but that would not be the right thing to do.
There are six townhouses in the New Phoenix project. Two-and three-bedroom units will be available for rent, with a possible option to buy after a year. For information, call Robin Brady or Jean Ortiz at (301) 866-9590, ext. 1440.