Rehabbing Homes and Building Bonds

It's hard to imagine that a high-rise apartment building could be forgotten. That, however, was what it felt like for residents of Monte Verde, two 13-story buildings with 301 apartments tucked away in the Park Heights section of Baltimore.

Built in the 1970s and home to senior citizens and disabled West Baltimoreans, the building had become more than a little rundown. Exposed cinder block hallways and barely functioning elevators greeted residents whenever they left their increasingly dilapidated apartments.

They weren't one of the forgotten, however. In fact, there was a plan -- one that would end in a $30 million dollar renovation of Monte Verde. The whole thing started in the Fall of 2005 when Greater Baltimore AHC was able to purchase the building from its previous owner. The non-profit organization wanted to provide the Section 8 and low income residents with housing that would improve their quality of life.

There was just one problem. How to renovate a building without forcing its residents to temporarily relocate.

"When we heard that they were going to come in and fix up the building, everybody in the building wondered if we would have to move out and go to a different place," says Ethel Lee, who's lived in Monte Verde for 20 years.

"Living here before the renovation was terrible. You didn't want to bring your family here because you were ashamed of where you lived," says Ronald Pretlow, who's lived there for 5 years.

Meeting the man

What Lee and the other residents didn't know was that they would soon become fast friends with not only the workers performing the renovation but with the president of the company, Michael Shacklette.

"It was very institutional looking," says Shacklette, president of The Michael Group. "When I came out here, we've been working on this two years before construction began the project, I got stuck in these elevators twice."

Undeterred, however, Shacklette returned to Monte Verde multiple times in the run up to the renovation to answer residents' questions and allay their concerns. It's Shacklette's personal involvement with each of the residents that really makes the difference, he says.

"The meetings made us feel like the project was happening with us and not just to us. They made sure we understood that they would notify us about everything they were going to do," says Lee.

Shacklette takes his obligations to the residents of his rehabs seriously and at Monte Verde has hosted several events, including summer picnics complete with bands and Christmas parties with gifts for everyone.

Once the job has been completed this month, Shacklette says that he'll throw another Christmas party and be back to celebrate Christmas in the years to come.

"This was the funnest job we've ever done," he adds.

A tough job but�

Shacklette started The Michael Group seven years ago when the economy was still booming. "Building owners would go to contractors and ask them if they'd do a renovation with the tenants in place. It was so much work that most contractors didn't want to have to deal with the hassle of working with the tenants in place," he explains.

The big guys all said no, but Shacklette saw an opportunity to both grow his business and give back to the community. "When I left Streuver Bros. I wanted to do affordable housing. I wanted to make a living doing something that I enjoy. You're not in this business if you don't care and we work strictly with non-profits."

"I had some idea of what it would be like. This is the 1,000^th unit that we've done and they've all been successful for us. I think the reason they've been successful is that we try to get to know the people. I can guarantee that they all know me, my name an all of our workers names on a personal level."

If residents have a problem, he continues, they know they're yelling at Sebastian and not just "that guy."

Although the work has at times been challenging, Shacklette says he "feels great when he walks down the hall and everyone knows his name."

Everything in its place

It is Shacklette's attention to detail and his uncompromising demand for perfection that make his rehabs so successful.

"We do this with people living in the units. They never move," he says, pointing to the newly cleaned and grouted bathroom tile floor, the newly installed wall-to-wall carpet and freshly painted walls.

"What we do is that when we're doing the carpet we move all the furniture into another room, carpet it and move the furniture back. When we do the kitchen, we get it back up and ready for the resident each night. It's the same with the bathroom and heating. Each night it has to be functional. Some nights we're here until 7 or 8 'o' clock at night getting things back together, without the dust and grime that comes with a renovation."

This project was particularly challenging for Michael Group staff because some of the residents were physically disabled or blind. That, says Jeff Hill, senior project manager, meant that everything in those units had to be placed in the exact same spot.

The workers efforts did not go unappreciated. While they were renovating one floor, the residents put out a buffet lunch for the week the workers were there, Hill says.

The best gift

Residents Rosalie Turner, Ronald Pretlow and Ethel Lee all say they are grateful for their newly rehabbed apartments and the relationships that have sprung up between the Michael Group employees and the building residents.

The renovations have given the building residents a sense that someone cares and has also brought the community together.

"I would never have thought it could be done with us still living in the apartments, but they proved me wrong," says Pretlow. "Now, thanks to Michael we have somewhere we can be proud of and we can invite people over and not be ashamed."

"Everybody is just like family. They are really a great bunch of folks. The promises they made, they kept," says Turner.