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40 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, January 27, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Opportunities Moving to Southern Oregon? MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend April 27, 2004 Manor company proposes Central Point project By BUFFY POLLOCK for the Mail Tribune CENTRAL POINT � The parent company of the Rogue Valley Manor hopes to build an affordable senior housing development within the city’s Twin Creeks transit-oriented development. Dena Smith, Pacific Retirement Services vice-president of housing, presented the concept last week to the City Council, which passed a resolution in support of the project. Pending final funding notification by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the project comprises a series of three-story apartment buildings providing between 65 and 70 units for an estimated $4.5 million to $5 million. In selecting the site, project coordinators researched local U.S. Census Bureau data and apartment vacancy information and found the need for affordable senior housing within the city to be "substantial." "Basically the need for affordable housing, especially for seniors, can be found in every community," Smith said. Advertisement "But we noted that Central Point specifically didn’t have anything set aside for low-income seniors, so we thought it was a natural place to propose this project. We’re pretty excited about this project getting started." Examples of other local projects sponsored by Senior Affordable Housing, a division of Rogue Valley Manor Community Housing and Pacific Retirement Services, include Quail Ridge Retirement Community in Ashland and Glenridge Terrace in Medford. Regionally, PRS and RVMCH manage 23 affordable senior housing developments in Oregon, California and Texas, including a half dozen in the Rogue Valley. The developments typically include a central community room and encourage the concept of allowing seniors to "age in place," said Smith. The centers provide the services seniors need and coordinate activities for residents, such as potluck dinners and blood pressure clinics. Rent is typically about 30 percent of adjusted gross income with reductions for medical expenses and utility allowances granted by HUD. For some, Smith said, rent could be as low as $50 while others pay as much as $250. Being located within the city’s transit-oriented district, which minimizes dependency on transportation, would give residents the added benefit of being close to goods and services. Twin Creeks developer Bret Moore said the project would be a good match for the TOD and the city and would help to meet a growing need for affordable senior housing. Moore said he had known PRS to have a "great track record." "I think it’s going to be very nice," Moore said. "They build nice clean facilities and they’re very well maintained. They’re good people that live there that just need a little help with the rent." While a handful of council members voiced initial concerns about the quality of housing and maintenance and upkeep of such a project, Smith said the goal of PRS was to create housing that "no one would have any idea was low-income housing." "There’s such a connotation when it comes to HUD-funded housing that it’s going to be a HUD project," she said. "With some of the pictures I’ve been able to share, I think we’ve done an nice job assuring that that’s not the thought here." City Councilwoman Donna Higginbotham felt the project was a good idea for a city with a growing and aging senior population. "I think it’s a great idea with all the seniors we’ve got living in Central Point," she said. "There are so many seniors out there that need that extra help, that have to make ends meet and they only make so much each month. It’s tough when they have to choose between paying for their medicine and paying the rent." On the Web, visit www.retirement.org and click on Senior Affordable Housing. Buffy Pollock is a free-lance writer living in Medford.E-mail her at [email protected]. Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. 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