Sherri Estates slated for major makeover

Sherri Estates, built in 1973, will undergo a radical rehabilitation in 2008, thanks to the efforts of Missouri Valley Community Action Agency and funding from Missouri Housing Development Commission.
(Kathy Fairchild/Democrat-News)

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To be known as Deer Creek Apartments when it's completed, Sherri Estates will be rebuilt and modernized with the help of Missouri Valley Community Action Agency (MVCAA) and HJS Development of Overland Park, Kan., thanks to tax credits and other funding from Missouri Housing Development Coommission (MHDC).

The project is slated to begin in the second quarter of 2008 and be completed about a year later.

Sherri Estates was built in 1973 as a project funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

According to Jon Schulte of HJS, Sherri Estates is just one of many such projects throughout the U.S., most of which are "now at a stage where they need preservation or restoration."

Schulte, who grew up in Marshall, has worked on several projects of this type in Missouri, Iowa and Kansas.

He says he gives "all the credit in the world" to Executive Director Ann Graff of MVCAA for her persistence in getting the project off the ground.

Graff submitted the project to MHDC five times before getting approval. Schulte said, "If we hadn't gotten approval this time, Ann and I probably would have worked on it until the building fell over, if necessary."

Both were convinced it was an important and much-needed development for the city of Marshall.

The apartment complex has 72 units, of which 30 or so are uninhabitable. The resulting loss of rental income just accelerates the process of decline, said Schulte.

Unfortunately, those 30 units are not contiguous, so some current residents will have to be relocated temporarily. Schulte's company will work on one building at a time, lessening the daily disruption to ongoing residents.

The project is a total rehabilitation of the complex. Roofs and siding will be stripped and windows removed. Interiors of all the units will be gutted. Schulte said, "We'll take it down to the studs and put it back together again."

An office and a community center will be added, too, giving MVCAA an opportunity to more easily provide services to residents.

Schulte expects involvement by local subcontractors on the project, which in itself will give a boost to the local economy.

"It's a really great thing for the city of Marshall ... and I hope everyone is really happy when it's done," he said. He looks forward to getting the project going and can already picture the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

"Ann Graff's tenacious persistence allowed us to go forward," he said. "Without (MVCAA's) perspective and vision, it wouldn't have happened."

Contact Kathy Fairchild at marshallhealth@socket.net