FREEHOLD — The Rug Mill Towers apartment complex on Jackson Street will be getting a facelift in the near future.
Funds are in place, vendors are set and the manager of the complex, Bix DiMeo, said everything is ready to provide the affordable housing complex with about $500,000 worth of improvements.
The apartment complex is home to families of all ages on one side and to senior citizens on the other side.
DiMeo, of D&M Property Management, Freehold, has been managing the apartment complex with his sister, Teress Mesce, and her husband, Ralph, since 2004.
DiMeo said additional security cameras will be installed at the complex, the interior of the entire complex will be repainted, and new carpeting and new tiling will be put down. The security system will be moved from the main lobby into the senior citizens section of the complex.
The goal of the improvements is to make all of the residents more comfortable, DiMeo said.
The apartment complex is a partnership between the Rug Mill Families, L.P., and the Rug Mill Seniors LLC, according to DiMeo, who said the work she begin in February.
The manager said he is trying to improve the senior citizens section of the apartment complex in order to make residents feel more at home. A separate entrance for the senior section is being planned.
“The seniors will have their own private entrance and they will not have to go through the main lobby,” DiMeo said. “It’s something special for them.”
It is expected that additional handicapped parking spaces will be added at some point in the future to make this side of the complex more “senior friendly,” he said.
The family side of the Rug Mill Towers apartment complex is comprised of 105 one-, two- and three-bedroom units. The senior citizens side has 98 one-bedroom apartments.
Local artist Chris “Kortez” Robinson said he loves his apartment and is looking forward to the upcoming improvements. Robinson, who said he has a good rapport with the management, has been living in the building with his daughters, Imani, 12, and Kennedy, 3.
Robinson said he believes the graffiti that has been left on some of the walls in the building has been placed there by young people who do not live in the building.
His main concern is maintaining the property after the improvements have been completed. He said he plans to speak with management and ask if they can join forces and create some type of community association in order to monitor the upkeep.
“As a resident, I feel we need to form some type of community effort to make certain the improvements we get
in the building stay that way,” Robinson said. “I think we should pull together with the management and create a more cohesive unity before this all happens.”
Robinson said educating the young people who live in the apartment complex about how to keep the building clean is essential.
“Many of the kids drag garbage bags along the rug. Then the garbage bag breaks and the garbage leaks all over the carpet,” he said.
In addition to the improvements, Robinson said he would like to see the community room in use again.
“Years ago we were able to rent the community room or book it for a party or special occasion. Due to the damage caused by someone, the community room is no longer available to us.
“I don’t think it’s fair for us to have to pay for someone else’s mistake. We could use that community room and do a lot of things with it, even make a computer room or a game room for the kids, an outlet for them, somewhere they can get together and hang out,” he said. Robinson said the management “sets the tone as people come through the front door.” He is hoping the additional security measures will help prevent things such as graffiti on the walls, and keep other people from damaging the place he and hundreds of other residents call home.
Ruth Archer and Jeanette Mol, both of whom live on the senior citizens side of the complex, are looking forward to the improvements. They were especially happy to hear about the planned upgrades in security.
“It will be super wonderful,” Archer said, adding that she also likes the idea of having a separate entrance for the seniors.
Mol praised the new property management firm (D&M) and said, “They have everything under control. You couldn’t find better people to do a better job. They do their job, but they also prove they have a heart.”