Senior Housing and Assisted Living

Construction is underway on the $20.4 million, 89,000 project for Senior Living at Cambridge Heights facility in St. Louis, Missouri. Cambridge Heights will feature 117 one- and two-bedroom apartments designed for older adults and be comprised of apartments ranging in size from 504-618 square feet for a one-bedroom apartment and 837 square feet for a two-bedroom apartment.  The development will contain 75 public housing apartments, 36 apartments to receive project-based Section 8 assistance (nine of those are also Missouri Housing Finance Agency Home Investment Partnership Act apartments and eight are also Affordable Housing Assistance Payment apartments) and six Low Income Housing Tax Credit-only apartments. The facility also includes a common outdoor green space and approximately 51 private parking spaces.

KAI Design & Build is the architect, general contractor and mechanical/electrical/plumbing engineer for the project and expects the project to be completed in January 2011.  Financing for the three-story building was secured through the Missouri Housing Development Commission, St. Louis Housing Authority, Enterprise Bank & Trust and Business Bank of St. Louis, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. St. Louis-based McCormack Baron Salazar is the project’s developer.

“This capstone to the redevelopment of the former Cochran Gardens public housing site will meet an important need in the community to provide affordable, quality senior living and will serve to replace an obsolete and isolating tower building with a sustainable, universally-designed, low-rise facility,” said Vince Bennett, Executive Vice-President of McCormack Baron Salazar. “This development will also further the dramatic transformation of this community started with the Cochran Gardens HOPE VI and will support the revitalization efforts in the Columbus Square neighborhood.”

What kind of income is necessary to afford a modest rental home?  According to a recent report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, that number is $18.44 per hour or $38,360 per year.  The report highlights that rents are continuing to rise while wages stay the same or decrease across the country.  The national two-bedroom Fair Market Rent (FMR) is a $959 a month and 74% of metro renters live in an area where having two full-time jobs at the minimum wage would still not allow them to afford the two-bedroom FMR.

Other key findings from the 2010 report include:

·    The two-bedroom Housing Wage topped $20.00 in 10 states: HI, DC, CA, MD, NJ, NY, MA, CT, AK and FL.

·     In 2010, the estimated average wage for renters in the United States is only $14.44, a decline from $14.69 in 2009.

·    At the federal minimum wage of $7.25, a household would have to work 102 hours each week to afford the nation’s average FMR for a two-bedroom home.

·    There is no county in the United States in which a full-time minimum wage worker can afford even a one-bedroom apartment at the FMR.

“Out of Reach 2010 shows once again that prevailing incomes and wages are simply not enough to allow a family to afford a decent home in their community,” said Sheila Crowley, President of the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

“The persistence of high rates of unemployment and under-employment is making it ever more difficult for families to secure decent housing. Unfortunately, the situation is not likely to improve any time soon,” Center for Economic Policy and Research Co-Director Dean Baker said.

“[NLIHC’s] Out of Reach annual report on rental housing affordability shows a growing need to preserve and expand the current stock of affordable rental housing,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said. “The hardships faced by many low income renters in an economy recovering from the recession and record foreclosures make this need all the more urgent. We are grateful for NLIHC’s efforts, and we will continue our partnership to ensure that more Americans have better access to decent and affordable rental housing.”

Extensive data for every state, metropolitan area and county in the country are available online, at www.nlihc.org/oor2010/.

Jack Satter House, a supportive housing community for 300 low-income seniors in Revere, Massachusetts announced that it has received a $4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as part of its new Green Retrofit Program for Multifamily Housing.  The grant, which is the first of its kind in New England, will fund infrastructure upgrades and other retrofits to reduce utility costs by approximately 25 percent, cut water consumption, and improve indoor air quality. Jack Satter House is sponsored by Boston-based nonprofit Hebrew SeniorLife, a leader in geriatric health care, research, teaching and housing, and an affiliate of Harvard Medical School.

“Not only will this grant result in significant energy efficiency improvements and cost savings at Jack Satter House, it will serve as a model for how other organizations can incorporate sustainable, green building elements to create environmentally friendly communities,” said Len Fishman, CEO of Hebrew SeniorLife.

The one-year improvement project will include a variety of retrofits, including installation of EnergyStar-rated refrigerators and air conditioners, replacement of old boilers with new high-efficiency condensing boilers, installation of a combined heat and power electric co-generation plant, upgraded energy efficient lighting, low-flow aerators, shower heads and toilets, and the use of non-toxic paints, adhesives and sealants throughout. The renovation will enhance the quality of life for residents, increase energy efficiency, and generate approximately $180,000 in annual utility savings.

Hebrew SeniorLife was awarded grant funding through a highly competitive process from a pool of 769 applicants. HUD officials reviewed a variety of project criteria, including financial feasibility and the building’s physical condition, before allocating the $250 million in available Green Retrofit Program funds nationwide.

“This funding will not only improve the quality of life for the residents of Jack Satter House, but will lower energy costs and create quality green jobs at the same time,” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. “This is an example of the kind of long-term, fundamental impact the Recovery Act is having on America’s economy through clean energy investments.”

State Farm Insurance Cos. announced this month that it is expanding its commitment by $25 million with the National Equity Fund (NEF).The increased capitalization of the fund will help revitalize low-income communities by financing affordable housing for disadvantaged families and seniors. State Farm has joined forces with NEF, a nonprofit syndicator of low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs), to support high-impact developments that create healthy living environments, eliminate blighted and vacant lots, anchor broad plans for community improvement and generate local jobs.

"In any economic environment, affordable housing is critical," commented Joe Hagan, NEF president and CEO.  "But in today’s climate, the implications of State Farm’s investment are even more significant.  It ensures that hundreds of at-risk families will be able to raise their children in safe, decent homes that contribute to a better quality of life in their neighborhoods and that low-income seniors can afford to age in place, in the communities where they have lived so much of their lives."

State Farm has contributed more than $80 million in community development grants and loans to the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), NEF’s parent, to support restored commercial corridors, parks and recreational programs, after-school programs and other initiatives in low-income areas.

"By investing in affordable housing developments for disadvantaged families and seniors, State Farm is improving the lives of many residents in our communities across the country," says Barbara Cowden, executive vice president at State Farm.  "We are thrilled to build upon our long-standing partnership with LISC by creating and investing in the Good Neighbor Fund with NEF."  

Terraces on Tulane, a newly constructed senior housing community in New Orleans, Louisiana, is celebrating its re-opening after the former facility was badly damaged by Hurricane Katrina.  The Terraces on Tulane replaces Forest Towers, badly damaged by Katrina, and is a 200-unit community for low-income seniors  and is operated by Volunteers of America (VOA).  The $43 million complex features state of the art security and facilities that provide a comprehensive level of care and it also incorporates all of the latest building safeguards that were implemented after Katrina that will protect the facility in the event of another hurricane of the same magnitude as Katrina.

Many of the 187 residents living there when Hurricane Katrina hit had lived in the building for more than 10 years. When Hurricane Katrina hit, Volunteers of America successfully evacuated every resident of Forest Towers East. The residents were scattered all over the country. But what wasn’t lost in the storm was a desire to reestablish the community at Forest Towers East and return home.

The Terraces is part of Volunteers of America’s commitment to create more than 1,000 units of affordable rental housing in New Orleans where VOA has had a presence since 1896.