Spacious high-ceilinged rooms, granite countertops, a clubhouse, a sparkling swimming pool and weight room were just a few of the amenities on display Wednesday at an grand opening celebration of Park Central Apartments Wednesday.

Greater Port Arthur Chamber of Commerce members hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony for the newly opened affordable housing community off of FM 365.

“We are very excited and blessed we are here after many years of working through hurricanes and Carver Terrace as it was,” Cele Quesada, Port Arthur Housing Authority director said.

Since the facility opened its doors in December, residents have moved into the 184-unit affordable housing complex.

The $8 million facility was built with hurricane recovery funds to replace the old Carver Terrace low income housing in the city’s Westside after Hurricane Ike significantly damaged it. At the time, U.S. Housing and Urban Development officials dictated that the complex would be built in a another part of town — away from the refineries and closer to retail outlets and hospitals.

“It is very much an ideal location, close to all services, the hospital, mall, eateries — all of which means employment opportunities,” Quesada said. “In this kind of model, tenants are not segregated to one part of the community where resources are lacking.”

Quesada said the aesthetics of the townhouse-style units were cutting edge and would be attractive for years to come.

PA Housing Authority President Clonie Ambroise also spoke at the Open House.

“To take a natural disaster and an old complex and to merge it into this is wonderful,” he said.

The facility is nearly complete with the remaining units expected to be signed off on and ready to rent in three weeks, Chris Akbari, president of the Itex Group. The builders broke ground on the facility in August 2014 after the project was three years in the planning stages.

“We all wish Ike was here, we knew his heart was for Port Arthur no matter where he was,” Port Arthur Mayor Deloris “Bobbie” Prince said of the late Ike Akbari, who built the Itex group into a thriving development company with projects all over Southeast Texas. His family is still here with the same love for Port Arthur.”

Shaun Davis, director of the Southeast Texas Regional Planning Commission credited Prince with the tenacity to get the project started.

“She is the one who stepped up and made a case for public housing to be redone. The mayor stepped up to the front of the line. She was not going to let us sleep until it happened,” Davis said.

E-mail: sherry.koonce@panews.com

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