At its year-end meeting on Dec. 15, the South Bend Housing Authority Board of Commissioners approved several measures to relocate residents of the Rabbi Shulman apartment building near downtown South Bend.
Housing Authority Interim Executive Director Tia Cauley said that issues with the gas lines have made the Rabbi Shulman Apartments unsafe for tenants. While she said the building is “not about to blow up,” she does want residents relocated as quickly as possible.
“If it was left up to me, it would be yesterday," Cauley said. "It’s just that we need to get that building emptied out because we don’t know what else is going to happen to it.”
The Board of Commissioners approved a contract with Forum Architects to inspect the building and assess what the housing authority might be able to do with it in the future.
Since the relocation plan is still awaiting approval from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, residents have not been issued a 60-day notice yet. The board is working to relocate them in the meantime – board members approved vouchers for residents to move to other public housing sites, as well as a $10,000 contract with a moving company to help relocate residents who can’t move themselves.
The board also voted to hire Catherine Lamberg as the permanent housing authority executive director. She’s scheduled to take over the position on Jan. 4.
Correction: A previous version of this article misspelled Catherine Lamberg's last name as "Lambert." It has since been updated.
Contact Gemma at gdicarlo@wvpe.org or follow her on Twitter at @gemma_dicarlo
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