By Allison Morgan
Two years after a balcony suddenly collapsed at an apartment complex in Marathon, new tenants are moving into the reconstructed and reengineered workforce housing.
Located at 1655 Overseas Highway, the complex includes four buildings with 16 total units, owned by St. Columba Episcopal Church. In April 2023, tenants of the units were ordered to vacate the building when it was deemed structurally unsound. Thankfully, the collapse did not cause any injuries.
The years-long project to get the apartments structurally safe again has filled St. Columba’s Rev. Debra Maconaughey with a range of emotions and put her faith to the test.
“We’ve mainly been putting one foot in front of the other trying to get the apartments back up,” Maconaughey said. “I have a lot of faith and I thank God for that, because I haven’t lost my faith over this. I’m very proud of the church because we’ve really stuck together to do this project, which has been really hard and we haven’t wavered.”
Maconaughey worked closely with Randy Hendrick Construction and Will Campbell Engineering on the project and said she is grateful for their expertise and guidance. She added Marathon Lumber has been helpful in the process. Following many months of planning, applying for permits and executing repair work including spalling and a replaced roof, five of the units recently became habitable for tenants, with two more expected to reopen soon. Maconaughey believes all 16 units will be habitable by the end of July.
The improvements include all-new hurricane windows; new plumbing, electric, bathrooms and kitchens; and some updated appliances and Wi-Fi, according to Maconaughey. Repairs and improvements have cost about $1 million. The balconies have been removed, replaced by new staircases.
It hasn’t been easy to fund every step of the project, Maconaughey said, but with community support, the church has been able to see the project through. St. Columba funded a majority of the repairs; fundraisers from the community filled in the gaps. Maconaughey and church staff said they are grateful for the financial boost from fundraisers such as Marathon Monopoly, a Porky’s Bayside Mini Golf tournament, bingo events, a Frank’s Grill catered dinner and donations, such as one this month from the Greater Marathon Chamber of Commerce. The chamber donated a portion of tips that were collected at the 49th Original Marathon Seafood Festival.
“You can see what happens when people band together for the good,” Maconaughey said. “We never bought this building for our parish. This has always been for the community and we’ve never walked away from that mission, which was to provide workforce housing for the community. What happened was a heavy blow, but we’re looking forward to finishing the project and moving people in it.”
The church is still collecting donations to complete the project. Maconaughey encourages anyone who has a heart for workforce housing to donate. A Go Fund Me campaign is available for anyone who would like to give online.
While the 550-square-foot one-bedroom/one-bathroom units previously rented for $1,200 per month, after the costs of repairs, the revamped units are offered at $1,900 per month.
For more information, email 1655apartments@gmail.com.
Photos by ALLISON MORGAN/Keys Weekly
