Troubled Complex Getting a Make-Over
A year ago, the Island Village apartments were in a shambles.
Chunks of the ceiling had fallen, residents said, exposing pipes. The one- and two-bedroom apartments, many of them home to more than a dozen people, were infested with insects. Parents said they kept children indoors, nonetheless, for fear of gang members and other street toughs.
But today, things have changed.
After Many Mansions bought the 80-unit complex last summer, the nonprofit group embarked on its largest renovation project--a project that ended up transforming Island Village and the lives of its residents.
“Everything has changed,” said Nancy Vertiz, 20. “It smells good. It smells clean.”
Using $2.5 million from a state grant and city money, Many Mansions, a Thousand Oaks-based group that provides affordable housing to the working poor, gutted the rundown apartments and started over.
Standing in her new kitchen, Erika Perez, 24, is especially fond of the dishwasher--her first.
The water-stained tile in the bathroom and kitchen is gone, and new sinks, bathtub and toilet have been installed. The musty mildew stench has disappeared, thanks to fresh white paint and soft, cream carpet.
Perez used to close the curtains so her two children would not see the neighbor who spent his evenings sitting naked in the window smoking marijuana. Now, 4-year-old Janett and 2-year-old Daniel play with the toys that fill the patio.
Security guards drive through the property every hour. The evenings are peaceful, filled only with the smells of dinners cooking and the sounds of children playing.
“They have a sense of security,” said Lisa Safaeinili, director of resource development for Many Mansions. “They want a safe place to raise their family, just like anyone else.”
In the month and a half since they moved into their one-bedroom apartment, Perez and her husband, Javier, have been using the money he makes working for a local printer to buy household items--a dining room table, refrigerator, coffee maker and microwave.
“He’s getting low pay . . . but we’re doing good,” Perez said. “We want them [Janett and Daniel] to have what we never did.”
The 20 buildings in the complex on Thousand Oaks Boulevard near City Hall are being renovated in five phases. Four buildings are finished. The entire project is slated for completion in November.
Crews gutted the dilapidated buildings and turned some of the two-bedroom apartments into three-bedroom units. Monthly rent used to run between $800 and $1,000, but Many Mansions’ rates range between $595 and $745.
The renovation has been an arduous process because the buildings were in such poor condition, construction manager Jim Carpenter said.
But the physical renovation hasn’t been the only challenge facing the agency. After taking over the property last July, Many Mansions set out to evict the people who caused trouble.
With as many as 15 people living in each apartment, it was difficult to sleuth out who was on the lease. Getting people to talk was harder than “pulling teeth out of a rabid dog,” Carpenter said.
When property manager Willy Martinez moved in with his wife and six daughters last summer, someone called and said Martinez could expect to be attacked in the complex. In the months it took to get rid of the troublemakers, no one in Martinez’s family walked outside alone.
“We were always inside,” said Martinez. “We were so depressed.”
But Many Mansions staff members put out the edict early: Troublemakers would not be tolerated.
As the crime began disappearing, construction got underway.
Many Mansions, which operates five other affordable housing complexes in the Conejo Valley, began introducing the buffet of social services it offers. Many Island Village children are now shuttled to the Shadow Hills Apartments, where they take advantage of the free after-school homework and sports programs. And when the community room is finished, Island Village youngsters will have their own after-school program.
With summer quickly approaching, some of the more than 300 children who live in the nonprofit group’s sites are signing up for an eight-week camp offered by Many Mansions.
Families, many of whom don’t have health insurance, are able to visit doctors for free. And once a month, food is made available for those having a tough time making ends meet.
While all cities are required to provide affordable housing, Many Mansions touts its social services arm as unique. Started in 1979 by now county supervisor Frank Schillo, the group’s ultimate aim is to help move its residents closer to self-sufficiency.
Most of the nearly 1,000 people who live in Many Mansions-run homes have service jobs and are considered working poor, making less than $25,000 for a family of four. But fewer than 1% of their residents receive welfare, primarily because at least one member of a household must be employed.
Breaking the poverty cycle through affordable housing and support services can be a tough sell. But it’s worth it, said Dan Hardy, the group’s executive director.
“We’re cleaning up their problems and providing affordable housing,” he said.
During the next six years, the city is expected to need 4,000 new affordable homes.
Many Mansions’ next project is to turn the Village Inn Motel into 50 studio apartments that will rent for $300 a month. They can’t be ready soon enough; the group has a three-year waiting list.
“Every day, we have people coming in,” said Martinez, Island Village’s property manager. “They ask, ‘Can we move in?’ ”
