A Washington-based company says the Delta Apartments, considered an eyesore by many, may be Leflore County’s “acre of diamonds.”
Rory Tate, a representative of Green Homes of Washington, said Billy Walker of Greenwood had showed him the Browning Road complex. Walker told the Leflore County Board of Supervisors on Monday that Tate had several ideas for the site.
“As each of you know, it’s an awful mess,” Walker said.
He said several projects could be done to make the site safer and more productive.
“We want to make that a decent place for people to live with a day care center, maybe a little small store on the grounds out there,” he said.
Tate said his company has been looking at the property and would like to see the county express interest in obtaining it.
“I believe that this board and Leflore County has a golden opportunity to make it something positive for the community,” he said.
He asked the board to express interest to the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) office in Atlanta in acquiring the property pending the approval of a proposal from Green Homes of Washington.
Green Homes of Washington, LLC offers design and construction of highly energy-efficient homes, analysis of existing homes and installation of energy-saving solutions for existing homes.
He said he has been contacting several agencies, trying to gather support, and “everybody has given us nothing but encouragement to move forward.”
“Conceivably Leflore County could receive this complex for as little as $1,” he said. “Now, there’s some concerns on the board that we are asking the board to pass the property on to us. That’s absolutely not the case.”
The property has been up for bid twice. Supervisors had previously described it as a health hazard and a prime place for youth loitering.
Tate said that in addition to renovating the buildings, his company would like to help implement a work force program.
“We need to teach a lot of folks green technology in this county,” Tate said. “There is a big need to do that here. This project provides an opportunity for us to start training these folks who are at risk of standing out there on the corner selling drugs waiting for an opportunity to go to prison.”
District 2 Supervisor Robert Moore, whose district includes the complex, has been particularly concerned about the site.
“I don’t want to do this but one time with Delta Apartments, and if we do it I want to be sure it’s done right,” Moore told Tate.
Moore said he would like to see some more information from the company. The motion was tabled and Tate agreed to exchange contact information and pass more information to the board.
