Winston-Salem Housing Authority sells historic building, faces further repair delays at Crystal Towers

The Housing Authority of Winston-Salem, or HAWS, has completed the sale of a historic downtown building. It comes as repairs for one of its low-income housing complexes faces another delay.

The second elevator at Crystal Towers — an 11-story high rise for the elderly and disabled — is now expected to be back in use toward the end of the year. Repairs were originally scheduled to be completed in August.

Maintenance issues have long been a concern for residents of the complex. But the work has been slowed by labor and supply challenges, according to officials.

HAWS Executive Director Kevin Cheshire says the complexity of the repairs has led to longer timelines than the contractor KONE anticipated.

"There are very few companies that do this kind of work," Cheshire said. "And given the age of all of our high-rise buildings and the difficulty in trying to navigate a complex construction job like this and keep one elevator car operable at all times, it's not a quick thing." 

HAWS also announced at a board meeting on Tuesday that it's completed a $3.1 million sale of the historic Loewy building. It was bought by developer High Tide Capital. The housing authority was using the downtown site for its corporate office before moving headquarters to Cleveland Avenue.