Community Corner

Construction Begins on Catholic Charities Fullerton Senior Housing

The Baltimore-based non-profit will build two apartment buildings that will cater to low-income seniors at a property on Fitch Avenue.

A site on Fitch Avenue in Fullerton will soon become home for up to 180 low-income senior citizen families.

Catholic Charities, the Baltimore-based nonprofit, has begun construction on two apartment buildings in the 4300 block, between Rossville Boulevard and Belair Road, on a 7.4-acre site that was formerly the home Meyer Seed International.

The first of the buildings, dubbed Village Crossroads I, is expected to be complete by May or June of next year and will house 94 senior families, according to Dale McArdle, Director of Catholic Charities Senior Housing Development.

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By the end of 2013, a second apartment building called Village Crossroads II—which will house 84 low-income senior families—will also be built on the same site.

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The total cost for the two buildings is around $25 million dollars, McArdle said.

The Village Crossroads I building, which comes in at a little more that $14 million, is being funded through a mixed stream of federal Housing and Urban Development Section 202 money and state low-income tax credits, McArdle said.

The development will be the first in the state to use a mixed finance stream of this kind, according to a statement from Catholic Charities.

In choosing the site for the project, McArdle said that Fullerton was attractive for a number of reasons.

"It just appeared that there were a lot of things that we were looking for: it's a large piece of property, and it has proximity to hospitals, shopping, and transportation," he said. "When you compete for funds, you want to try and find the best site available."

In addition to affordable housing, the location will offer "Service Coordination linking residents to benefits and resources in the community; a Wellness Suite staffed by health care providers; a Congregate Housing Services Program, offering meals, housekeeping, laundry and personal services to those in need of assistance; and a resident transportation program," according to a statement from the nonprofit.

Bob Keenan, a spokesperson for Catholic Charities, said projects like this are in line with the nonprofit's mission.

"We look at four primary pillars as far as the people we serve: senior citizens, at risk children and families, people with intellectual disabilities, and people living in poverty," Keenan said.

Keenan noted that although the non-profit is faith-based, there is no faith requirement for seniors looking to move into affordable housing.

"Most of our residents statewide are not Catholic," he said.

Currently the group operates 1,611 housing units for low-income seniors at 22 facilities around the state.


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