Park Place reopens: Two years after tornado devastates complex, first remodeled units available to rent
Soon, the city condemned the entire 250-unit complex because the buildings not directly hit by the tornado had roof damage and other structural issues.
"It created an absolute nightmare," he said. "I was here crying seeing all my residents go, but they didn't want to and had nowhere to go."
But now, more than two years after the storm, parts of
Last week, the 34 one-bedroom units in the A building, which was one of the hardest hit by the tornado, received its certificate of occupancy, which allowed residents to start moving in immediately.
But for tenants who lived there before the storm, the units will be unrecognizable.
Property Manager
Each unit has a high-efficiency heating and cooling unit that will more than halve residents' electricity bill compared to the old units. The apartments in the A building will also have their own in-house washer and dryer.
Reed said rental rates will run from
Soon, the B building will also reopen as a totally remodeled complex offering 32 two-bedroom units. Reed said the units should be available to rent by mid-October.
Naranjo said it's hard to believe it's taken two years to finally get one of the buildings back open, but dealing with insurance and construction timelines have slowed down the project.
"This has taken much longer than I thought, and it's costing me a lot of money to renovate, considering it's been two years with no income," he said.
Once the entire 250-unit complex reopens sometime next year, Naranjo will have sunk just under
"From a business point of view, this doesn't make any sense at all," he said. " ... This complex would not be worth
But
"I have to say thanks to the police and the people of
The housing situation in
That means attracting tenants to
"I love competition," he said. "I'm a tough cookie when it comes to competition. We are going to be as good as the best in town, if not better. My goal is to have the best apartment complex in town, but that doesn't mean we're going to be the most expensive."
Reed said with a new housing game in
Reed said so far, a handful of people have indicated they will rent units at
Naranjo, who lives in
Now, he's happy to offer another housing option to the city he's invested in for more than a decade, including creating a scholarship fund for students at Indiana University Kokomo.
"Here, I know the people and the people know me," Naranjo said. "I have an attachment to this town. If I took this money and went somewhere else, I'd have to start from scratch. Here, I have everything, and I feel myself in debt to the people of
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