Residents still living in apartment complex scheduled for demolition

SANFORD, Fla. — A Sanford housing complex is set to be demolished, which means multiple families who are still living in buildings on the property will soon be living in a construction zone.

The housing authority wants to tear down the Castle Brewer Court apartments in January even though residents still live in six of the units.

Most of the windows in the complex are boarded up, but the families who still live in their apartments said they're just happy to have a place to stay.

Resident Coleen Heyligar said she was homeless before she moved into her unit. She told Channel 9 she knew there were plans to tear down the apartments, but she didn't think the surrounding buildings would be torn down so quickly.

"That to me is a surprise because I'm thinking I got a couple more years," she said.

Instead, it'll just be one year until the Orlando Housing Authority can get the Heyligar and the other families a Section 8 housing voucher to move.

But Heyligar and the other five families in the complex will be living there still when crews move in to start the demolition.

Utilities will stay on for the residents, officials said, because the buildings are separated from the ones being torn down.

The Orlando Housing Authority doesn't have a firm date set yet for demolition, but they plan to start the project in January.

The remaining six units will be torn down eventually, but before that can happen the housing authority still needs to hold a public hearing and get federal approval.

WFTV