City Helps Oakdale Condo Secure $750,000 Loan for Improvements

The new boiler, says Gordy Jones, “looks like something out of Star Wars.”

Jones is the association president at Oakdale’s Lakeview Terrace condo, which recently completed several improvements after securing a $750,000 loan facilitated by the city.

Oakdale each year helps a handful of townhomes, condos or apartment buildings get loans, said Mayor Carmen Sarrack, who toured Lakeview Terrace on Thursday before a small ceremony marking the completion of the projects.

“We want the property values to stay up,” Sarrack said.

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Four years ago, Lakeview Terrace was told it had to update its elevator, Jones said. The cost was estimated at $225,000, and the association only had about $115,000 in reserves.

“We didn’t know what to do,” said Jones, who has lived at the building, located along Highway 120 at Tanners Lake, for the past 22 years.

So the group spoke with city officials and learned of the program, and the decision was made to secure a loan that would also pay for a new roof, boiler and parking lot, in addition to the elevator, Jones said.

The loan will be repaid over 20 years through property taxes on those living at Lakeview Terrace.

Without the loan, the association may have considered selling the building, Jones said.

On Thursday, Jones said Lakeview Terrace residents are pleased with the improvements.

“Everyone’s loving it,” he said.