Elizabeth Cotton has called the Sankey Hi-Rise apartments home for 2 1/2 years.
She enjoys cooking for her neighbors and chatting with friends in the halls. She describes the 14-story building as a wonderful place to live.
Like all the residents at Sankey, however, Cotton knows there are changes on the horizon. The towers, both about 40 years old, have started to deteriorate, and the Springfield Housing Authority plans to tear them down. The hi-rise buildings would be replaced by a smaller facility with larger apartments.
For Cotton and the other people who call Sankey home, it will be the end of an era.
“I love this area out here,” said Cotton, 49. “I’ve lived on this side of town a lot of my life. It’s peaceful to me. I hope that most of the people I’ve met at Sankey and become friends with can all come back to the same place. That’s the only thing I worry about – that most aren’t going to come back.”
The building at 415 W. Allen St. was completed in 1968. Its twin at 401 W. Allen St. opened in 1971.
Over the years, the housing authority has had an ongoing problem with water leaks in both towers, and bricks are starting to get loose in spots.
No one lives in the building at 415 W. Allen St., which was damaged by fire about 18 months ago. About 108 people live at the building at 401 W. Allen.
No danger
Jackie Newman, executive director of the Springfield Housing Authority, said the remaining residents aren’t in any danger, but the housing authority wants to act before problems becomes more serious.
There is no timetable, but it could be three years or more before the buildings are torn down.
Jonell Hansen, 47, who has lived at Sankey for 4 1/2 years, said she would like to see the federal government designate more money for housing.
“If they (federal officials) would give housing the money that is due them, to help keep these places up, they wouldn’t be having to tear this place down,” Hansen said.
With so many people living at Sankey, there are bound to be a few personality clashes.
Most of the people at the building, however, aren’t looking for any trouble, said Traci Jostes, 50.
“The people are decent. If you treat like you want to be treated, they treat you that way,” Jostes said. “If you are nice and talk to them, they are nice and talk to you. If you are mean, obnoxious and fighting all the time, then that’s what you are going to get.”
Jostes, the resident council president, has lived at Sankey for about six years. She lives on the 11th floor with Cotton.
Over the years, Jostes has seen some of the structural problems firsthand.
“I was in two handicapped apartments in 415 (the building that is closed). Every time it rained, the apartments leaked. I’m in an electric wheelchair. I can’t be in water. That’s a problem,” Jostes said.
Friends look out for each other
While Jostes’ current apartment is handicapped accessible, it is on the 11th floor. When the fire alarm sounds, she is unable to use the elevator.
Jostes said she goes into her apartment and shuts her door when she hears the alarm. She has been told that if there is a fire, it would not be able to jump from apartment to apartment.
Newman said the SHA knows which apartments are occupied by people with mobility issues, and there are evacuation plans in place to take care of them if there is a fire.
In addition to the official plans, Jostes’ neighbors also look out for her.
When they have to evacuate for a fire alarm, Cotton said she checks on Jostes and then makes sure the fire department knows where Jostes can be found.
For Cotton, looking out for the people on her floor is second nature.
“I’m up early in the morning,” Cotton said. “I always check on my neighbor, Patricia, and Phil. I hear Traci (Jostes) when she comes out the door. I’ll say hi to her, and we’ll usually talk for a while. Every once in a while, her cat will run into my apartment.”
Cotton enjoys cooking and often shares with the neighbors.
“When I cook, everybody can smell the aroma in the hall and down to the tenth floor. I love to cook,” Cotton said.
Like Cotton, Jostes would like to return when the SHA rebuilds at the Sankey site. She likes the area because it’s centrally located.
“I rely on my mom, niece, friends and sister to run me around,” Jostes said. “They are all on the southwest side of town. This place is centrally located for me. I like this area.”
John Reynolds can be reached at 788-1524.
Sankey facts
*The Sankey Hi-Rises include two 14-story towers.
*The building at 415 W. Allen St. was opened in 1968, and the building at 401 W. Allen St. in 1971.
*Together, the buildings have about 215 units. The building at 415 W. Allen St. was closed about 18 months ago following a fire. About 108 people live in the building at 401 W. Allen St.
*The buildings were named after John E. Sankey, who served on the Springfield Housing Authority board for many decades.
Problems with leaks, brick facades led to demolition decision
Water leaks and potential trouble with the brick facade are two of the problems that led the Springfield Housing Authority to decide to demolish the Sankey Hi-Rises on West Allen Street.
Jackie Newman, executive director of the housing authority, said there is no immediate danger to residents living at the facility. Decisions are being made now, she said, so the process of replacing the towers can get under way before problems become serious.
“Let me make it clear. We are not afraid that the building is going to fall down tomorrow,” Newman said. “What we are attempting to do is to be pro-active versus waiting and experiencing what happened at the Major Byrd Hi-Rise, where the bricks started to fall.”
The housing authority tore down the Major Byrd Hi-Rise at 125 N. 13th St. in 2006, after it experienced structural problems including the collapse of a brick wall.
The Sankey buildings are similar to design to Major Byrd, so they could be susceptible to the same problem of brick facades tearing away from walls.
Some bricks at the Sankey buildings are starting to become loose, but the housing authority doesn’t expect any immediate problems.
“We want to make sure we don’t wait until the bricks fall before we do something about it,” Newman said.
The buildings also have experienced leaks.
“Anytime water gets into a building, it’s going to cause some semblance of deterioration,” Newman said.
New facility reflects changing philosophy
Springfield Housing Authority officials plan to replace the Sankey Hi-Rise complex with a smaller facility that has larger apartments.
The two Sankey towers are 14 stories tall. Combined, they have about 215 units.
Plans call for the new facility to be about five stories tall and have about 130 to 135 units.
The housing authority has a drawing of what a new facility might look like, but it is very preliminary, said Jackie Newman, director of the Springfield Housing Authority.
“Absolutely nothing is firm,” Newman said. “We wanted to give people a what-if – ‘This could look like this.’ This is a preliminary rendering of what a four- or five-story facility would look like versus a 14-floor facility.”
A smaller facility also would fit the changing philosophy of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“Back when (Sankey) was built, HUD believed in just the very basics, which is one of the reasons air conditioning wasn’t included. But, now, their position has changed,” Newman said.
Read the original article from The State Journal-Register.
Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services