Post by admin on Jan 26, 2010 19:20:41 GMT -5
newstranscript.gmnews.com/news/2010-01-27/Front_Page/Turnaround_takes_hold_at_rug_mill_apartments.html
Additional security was put in place for senior citizens
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO Staff Writer
A new security system is part of the renovations that were recently completed at the Rug Mill Towers in Freehold Borough. A security booth has been installed in the senior citizens’ section of the apartment complex.
JEFF GRANIT staff FREEHOLD — Executives with the firm that manages the Rug Mill Towers want people to know that the Freehold Borough apartment building is in better shape now than it was when their firm took over in 2006.
The converted rug mill at the intersection of Jackson and Center streets houses the headquarters of the Freehold Borough Police Department and apartments for senior citizens and for families. The YMCA Community Center is also a tenant of the building.
“This is not the same building it was when we took it over,” said Bix DiMeo, who runs D&M Management, Freehold, with his sister, Terry DiMeo-Mesce. “This is now a community. Our goal was to create a community that is respected in the borough and one whose residents can be proud to say they live in.”
After D&M Management assumed control of the building, the firm began to apply for grants that would help pay for upgrades in the building’s appearance and security. It took almost two years for some of the money to be received and for the improvements to begin, DiMeo said.
Residents’ safety, comfort and security have been the goal of the management team since they assumed control of the building.
“We have new security cameras installed on every floor,” DiMeo said, adding that residents can feel safe with this more advanced equipment in place.
On the senior citizen side of the apartment building, a security booth has been installed and is manned by a guard from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. A security guard is also responsible for making regular rounds through the building.
“We feel it is important for our residents to feel safe and comfortable here,” DiMeo said.
In addition to the security upgrades, the hallways on the family and senior sides of the building have all been freshly painted and have had new carpeting installed. New tile has been installed in other areas of the building.
Plans call for the installation of a separate entrance for the senior citizens side of the building and for handicapped parking spaces directly in front of the apartment building.
“We will have the grassy area in front of the building removed and install eight parking spaces,” DiMeo said. “Some spaces will be handicapped accessible and some spaces will be time limited.”
DiMeo said he has worked with Borough Administrator Joseph Bellina and the Code Enforcement Department on all of the new projects.
“We took this place, which was a problem place when we got it, and Terry, Mary Ann (Mary Ann Mulligan, the building manager), and myself pulled it together and made something nice,” DiMeo said.
According to the management team, the rug mill complex had a less than pristine reputation when they took it over.
“That’s all over now,” DiMeo-Mesce said. “We don’t tolerate bad behavior here. We are going in the right direction now, but it is a long haul, a slow road.”
Plans are in the works to give the apartment building a new name: Freehold Towers at the Rug Mill.
Orlando Aragones, who has lived in the building for six years, said, “The changes have made a tremendous difference. Things are much, much better and I am very happy here. The newly painted walls and the new carpeting make it like a hotel.”
Aragones said he enjoys the sense of community that he sees at the complex. He said the new security gives him a comfortable feeling of safety.
“We are like one big family here,” he added. “We share conversation and laughter.”
The management firm will host an open house at the Rug Mill Towers on Saturday, Feb. 6, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Prospective tenants may see the available apartments at that time. For information on the open house or apartment availability, call 732- 294-1483 or 732-294-1491.
DiMeo said he and his sister were raised in Freehold and went to school with some of the people who live in the building.
“I know some of these residents from high school. They are people I still talk to. We are not strangers to the town or to the community,” he said. “Our door is always open to our residents. We are not running from any issues. We are right here to address them.”
Additional security was put in place for senior citizens
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO Staff Writer
A new security system is part of the renovations that were recently completed at the Rug Mill Towers in Freehold Borough. A security booth has been installed in the senior citizens’ section of the apartment complex.
JEFF GRANIT staff FREEHOLD — Executives with the firm that manages the Rug Mill Towers want people to know that the Freehold Borough apartment building is in better shape now than it was when their firm took over in 2006.
The converted rug mill at the intersection of Jackson and Center streets houses the headquarters of the Freehold Borough Police Department and apartments for senior citizens and for families. The YMCA Community Center is also a tenant of the building.
“This is not the same building it was when we took it over,” said Bix DiMeo, who runs D&M Management, Freehold, with his sister, Terry DiMeo-Mesce. “This is now a community. Our goal was to create a community that is respected in the borough and one whose residents can be proud to say they live in.”
After D&M Management assumed control of the building, the firm began to apply for grants that would help pay for upgrades in the building’s appearance and security. It took almost two years for some of the money to be received and for the improvements to begin, DiMeo said.
Residents’ safety, comfort and security have been the goal of the management team since they assumed control of the building.
“We have new security cameras installed on every floor,” DiMeo said, adding that residents can feel safe with this more advanced equipment in place.
On the senior citizen side of the apartment building, a security booth has been installed and is manned by a guard from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. A security guard is also responsible for making regular rounds through the building.
“We feel it is important for our residents to feel safe and comfortable here,” DiMeo said.
In addition to the security upgrades, the hallways on the family and senior sides of the building have all been freshly painted and have had new carpeting installed. New tile has been installed in other areas of the building.
Plans call for the installation of a separate entrance for the senior citizens side of the building and for handicapped parking spaces directly in front of the apartment building.
“We will have the grassy area in front of the building removed and install eight parking spaces,” DiMeo said. “Some spaces will be handicapped accessible and some spaces will be time limited.”
DiMeo said he has worked with Borough Administrator Joseph Bellina and the Code Enforcement Department on all of the new projects.
“We took this place, which was a problem place when we got it, and Terry, Mary Ann (Mary Ann Mulligan, the building manager), and myself pulled it together and made something nice,” DiMeo said.
According to the management team, the rug mill complex had a less than pristine reputation when they took it over.
“That’s all over now,” DiMeo-Mesce said. “We don’t tolerate bad behavior here. We are going in the right direction now, but it is a long haul, a slow road.”
Plans are in the works to give the apartment building a new name: Freehold Towers at the Rug Mill.
Orlando Aragones, who has lived in the building for six years, said, “The changes have made a tremendous difference. Things are much, much better and I am very happy here. The newly painted walls and the new carpeting make it like a hotel.”
Aragones said he enjoys the sense of community that he sees at the complex. He said the new security gives him a comfortable feeling of safety.
“We are like one big family here,” he added. “We share conversation and laughter.”
The management firm will host an open house at the Rug Mill Towers on Saturday, Feb. 6, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Prospective tenants may see the available apartments at that time. For information on the open house or apartment availability, call 732- 294-1483 or 732-294-1491.
DiMeo said he and his sister were raised in Freehold and went to school with some of the people who live in the building.
“I know some of these residents from high school. They are people I still talk to. We are not strangers to the town or to the community,” he said. “Our door is always open to our residents. We are not running from any issues. We are right here to address them.”
