LOCKPORT: Foxwood Place Apartments now open | Local News

Affinity Foxwood Place Apartments are opening, thanks to some groups working together.

A ribbon-cutting and open house ceremony was held Thursday in the new community office for the apartments on 6147 Ruhlmann Road. The entire project not only took a lot of people, but a lot of time, as well.

“Standing here today, we have to look back three and a half years to when we started this process; it takes a long time,” said Affinity Property Management partner and CEO Jeff Birtch. “It’s a huge team that takes us to this point.”

The project started in November 2006 and will be completed in full in March. Lauer-Manguso and Associates of Buffalo is the architectural firm in charge of the construction and the remodeling. Some of the buildings were renovated for handicap use.

The Foxwood property includes the apartments, new parking lots and a playground. Kitchens, bathrooms, windows and flooring are all new, and there’s a new laundry center. It also offers rent with gas and electric utilities included, and the rent is based on income. Assisted housing is also available, as well as handicap-accessible units. Residents can use the open area in the center, but with a prior request and approval.

One-bedroom apartments, one bedroom handicapped apartments and two- and three-bedroom townhouses are offered at Foxwood. However, there is a waiting list for the unoccupied apartments still under renovation.

Even the ribbon-cutting required a team effort. Mark Chason of Affinity and a member of the Niagara USA Chamber cut it together. Birtch thanked list of people for their work, representative of the team effort that went into the Foxwood apartments.

“We have a strong team here,” said Dave Johnson, construction superintendent. “Everybody had a part, no matter how small; we couldn’t do it without those necessary parts.”

The project is divided into five phases. Four are finished, and the final phase will be completed in March. Johnson said the project was on budget and will be completed early.

Before the project started, there were three buildings that housed tenants. Tenants were moved around until a building was completed, and then moved into the renovated building. Affinity did what they could to keep the transitions as easy to bear as possible for the tenants.

“We actually hired a moving company,” said Katherine Carlson, a regional property manager for Affinity. “We kept it convenient for all of the tenants.”

Affinity Property Management is a privately held third-party management firm based in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 2003, Affinity now has more than 40 apartment communities that vary in size from small to large markets. Even though Affinity covers a wide range of locations, it still tries to promote local interests in every market. Foxwood Place, for example, will now try to work with a bigger team than the one that helped open the apartments.

“We look forward to being a part of the community,” Birtch said.

Contact reporter Joe Olenickat 439-9222, ext. 6241.