A renovation project for the San Benito Housing Authority is more than halfway complete.

A makeover is underway at the Palmview Estates in San Benito.

For the last six years, Santos Sanchez and his wife have called this place home. "Well, it was ok,” Sanchez said. “They were very run down, the houses, they didn't have much in terms of services.”

Upgrades started last April to the homes first built in the 1960s.

Sanchez was able to move back in two months ago. He came home to more kitchen space, air conditioning, and a heater.

"A lot more comfortable,” Sanchez said. “Now with air conditioning and now that it's cold."

The renovations are 60% complete.

Executive Director for the San Benito Housing Authority, Art Rodriguez, said the upgrades were long overdue.

“This doesn't look like anything like a housing authority, it looks like a regular apartment, and that was the goal of what we were after,” Rodriguez said. “We wanted to make it a very beautiful location to live."

Once complete, 84 families can live there, and Rodriguez says this is just their first step.

They are hoping to address the demand they are seeing in people looking for affordable housing. They are looking at other properties to build more homes in the future.

Right now, there are around a thousand people on their waiting list.

As for the Palmview Estates, it’s a $19 million project. The most money they’ve invested in compared to any of their other properties.

"The people are extremely happy to have this apartment complex built for them, they're enjoying it,” Rodriguez said. “Everybody is anxious to get in."

Rodriguez says the project is being paid for through a combination of investors and loans.

They are aiming for completion of construction in August to continue giving families the support they need.