Mike Wolanin | The Republic Demolition has begun on The Villas, a former affordable housing apartment complex at at 4101 Waycross Drive.
A contractor has started demolishing an affordable housing complex in Columbus that closed at the end of July.
Contractor Denney Excavating Inc. started tearing down the former Villas apartments at 4101 Waycross Drive on Wednesday, according to property owner BHI Senior Living and county records.
Bartholomew County Code Enforcement had issued a demolition permit to the company the day before.
BHI Senior Living said it expects the demolition to take around three to four weeks to complete. The permit states that the demolition has an estimated cost of $305,895.
Currently, BHI Senior Living is evaluating its plans for the property after the demolition is finished, a company official said.
For now, “the plan is to (demolish the apartment complex), plant grass and turn it into a green space before any future usage would even be considered,” said BHI Senior Living spokeswoman Megan Ulrich.
“As for next steps, BHI is still in the process of evaluating future plans for the site,” Ulrich said. “Once those plans are finalized, we would be happy to share additional details. But this will be a future project, nothing is planned.”
Last year, BHI Senior Living announced that it had decided to close the 99-unit Villas apartments by the end of April 2025, when its contract with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that subsidized rent for its residents was set to expire.
The company later received extensions from HUD to “provide added time and flexibility for those (residents) still in transition,” company officials said previously. The final closing date was July 31.
Residents received tenant protection vouchers this past April that aimed to help them relocate. In total, 41 residents and families use the vouchers, Ulrich said previously.
BHI Senior Living said last year that the decision to close the Villas reflected its strategy to shift away from multi-family housing that does not include a health care component and focus on providing care to older adults through its continuing care retirement communities.
The closure of the Villas did not impact Four Seasons Retirement Community, which BHI Senior Living also owns.
City officials also formed a subcommittee last year tasked with helping the nearly 100 low-income residents, including some who are elderly or disabled following BHI Senior Living’s decision to close the complex.
Between the closure of the apartments on July 31 and the start of the demolition this week, the Columbus Police Department used the vacant apartment complex for training exercises, Ulrich said.
“These included sessions with the bomb squad, SWAT team and K-9 unit, all conducted under proper supervision and with posted signage notifying the public that training was in progress,” Ulrich said.
