Chorey Park getting a new look

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, August 18, 2004

Considered by many one of Suffolk’s most hideous buildings, Chorey Park is getting a facelift.

Since the mid-rise building was erected in the 1980s, complaints have been numerous about the bright turquoise, coffee-toned, faint peach concoction.

Referencing its Florida look, Clarissa E. McAdoo, executive director of the Suffolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority,

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recently said the apartment building’s design was definitely &uot;ahead of its time.&uot;

The housing authority owns the five-story structure off

Constance Road, specifically designed for seniors and the disabled. Approximately 125 residents live there.

SRHA Vice Chairwoman Mary V. Richardson recalls when the building was originally built, and the public outcry that followed.

&uot;When they first built it, I was the first one who said it was an ugly color,&uot; said Richardson. She added that numerous city officials and citizens also complained that, &uot;It was the ugliest thing they had ever seen. We got a lot of letters about the turquoise and the loud colors. &uot;

With work now beginning to change the exterior appearance of Chorey Park, Richardson said, &uot;I think it’s going to look nice. It was terrible back in the ’80s, but as the years went by, the colors fit in better.&uot;

According to Tom Cramer, public housing facilities director for the SRHA, work on the building started Tuesday and will continue for approximately one month. The cost of the project is $196,895.

The Chorey Park renovation project includes resealing the existing EFIS (Exterior Insulation Finish System); adding additional panels to frame the windows and covering the drainpipes installed for the window air conditioning units. As a result, minus the turquoise, the building will have a three-dimensional look.

luefras.robinson@suffolknewsherald.com