BRUNSWICK

The Brunswick Housing Authority was approved Friday for a $1 million community development block grant to make improvements to Perryman Village, which is in need of major renovations totaling nearly $2 million.

Perryman Village is a 50- unit row of public housing townhouses for people on low and fixed incomes near Cook’s Corner. It is owned and managed by the Brunswick Housing Authority.

A 2015 Housing and Urban Development inspection noted the Perryman townhouses were missing roof shingles, had holes in walls, had inoperable windows and had missing or damaged bathroom sinks. Other issues included exposed wiring and a missing or inoperable smoke detector. Many items identified for renovation date back to the 1970s, when the complex was built.

Major renovations, including roof repairs and windows replacements, will begin in 2018. There is more to be done, however, to secure funding to complete the work, according to John Hodge, executive director of the housing authority.

The housing authority will apply for a half-milliondollar grant through the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston in September, and may borrow $750,000 from the HUD program to garner the remaining funds.

A federal subsidy is supposed to cover the housing costs that rent — subsidized under the Section 8 program — does not. However, housing authorities generally are not reimbursed for the amount that they need, said Hodge.

Hodge said some of that money must be used for administrative costs, leaving very little for capital improvements.

The need for affordable housing in the area is so great that more than 300 people are on a wait list, said Hodge.

Families working low-wage jobs need assistance in finding a decent, affordable home, Hodge said, and the housing authority offers several different types of housing, including subsidized housing owned and managed by BHA and built by the federal government.

Hodge said the housing authority works closely with Tedford Housing, which provides shelter, housing and programs for the homeless. The authority often refers people on the housing wait list to Tedford Housing for assistance. For a Section 8 housing voucher, it could be a substantial wait as only 30 vouchers are issued a year, Hodge said. For public housing, the wait list time also varies, because the housing authority works to fit a family’s size with available units, depending on how much space each family needs.

Hodge said there are thousands of people across the state in need of housing assistance.

jlaaka@timesrecord.com