The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded nearly $26 million in grants to multifamily housing owners in nine states to convert a portion or all of their apartments into assisted living or service-enriched environments for seniors.
The recent funding is provided through HUD’s Assisted Living Conversion Program, which supports the transformation of housing into units that can accommodate the special needs of seniors seeking to remain in their homes or age in place.
“We’re getting older as a nation and with that demographic shift, there is a growing demand for affordable housing that will allow our seniors to live independently in their own homes,” said Carol Galante, HUD’s acting Federal Housing commissioner and assistant secretary for housing.
Over the next four decades as the nation’s baby boomers age, more than 48 million people are projected to be added to the ranks of the 65 and older population. What’s even more staggering, the 85 and older population is expected to more than triple from 5.8 million in 2010 to 19 million in 2050, according to the Center for Housing Policy.
The latest grants provide private, nonprofit owners of eligible developments with resources to convert some or all of the dwelling units in the project into an assisted-living facility (ALF) or service-enriched housing (SEH) for elderly residents aging in place. Licensed and regulated by the state or local community, ALFs are designed to accommodate frail elderly and people with disabilities who can live independently but need assistance with daily activities such as assistance with eating, bathing, grooming, dressing, and home management activities. ALFs must provide support services such as personal care, transportation, meals, housekeeping, and laundry.
SEH is designed to accommodate frail elderly persons or elderly persons with service needs who are aging in place. Residents are able to live independently but need assistance with activities of daily living comparable to services typically provided in a licensed assisted living facility, such as health care-related services. These supportive services must be available through a licensed or certified third-party service provider. SEH is housing that accommodates the provision of services to elderly residents who need assistance with activities of daily living in order to live independently.
HUD awarded the following grants:
· Arizona: $1.7 million to Christian Care Cottonwood, Inc., for a development in Cottonwood.
· California: $4.1 million to The Lesley Foundation for a project in Half Moon Bay.
· Colorado: $1.4 million to Delta VOA Elderly Housing, Inc., in Delta.
· Connecticut: $2.3 million to Horace Bushnell Congregate Homes, Inc., in Hartford and $2.4 million to New Haven Jewish Community Council Housing Corp. in New Haven.
· Massachusetts: $2.2 million to Peter Sanborn Place in Reading.
· Minnesota: $1.5 million to Menorah Plaza Memory Care in Saint Louis Park.
· New York: $2 million to Bernardine Apartments in Syracuse and $2.6 million to Ken-Ton Presbyterian Village in Buffalo.
· Ohio: $3.3 million to National Church Residences for a development in Baltimore, Ohio.
· Texas: $2.4 million to Fowler Christian Apartments in Dallas.
