New senior citizen apartment building opens in Uniontown
One of the first residents of a senior citizen apartment building in Uniontown said Friday that she feels like she’s home.
Darlene Martin said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony that she’s been living at Maple Garden Apartments on Gallatin Avenue for about one month.
“It’s become my home, and I feel like I’ve lived here forever,” Martin said.
The $7.2 million senior citizen apartment building is already one-third full, said Dave Burg of Partnership for Income Restricted Housing Leadership (PIRHL). The Ohio-based company is one of the partners in the development with Fayette County Community Action Agency (FCCAA).
Burg estimated that by the fall, the three-story, 36-unit complex would be filled up.
Jim Stark, executive director of FCCAA said discussion about the apartment complex started several years ago, but actual construction did not start until the spring of 2010.
“The city has been going through a challenging period, as we all know,” Stark said. “We believe that the Maple Garden Apartments is part of the solution by helping to contribute to the local tax base and improving the value of the city’s apartment buildings.”
Financing for the project was provided by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, Uniontown Redevelopment Authority, Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, Federal Home Loan Bank, the Pittsburgh Partnership for Neighborhood Development and a federal grant, according to a release from FCCAA.
Burg said PIRHL got involved in the apartment project because officials realized there was a need for affordable senior citizen housing.
“It was screaming. It was glaring. We knew we had to do something about the need,” Burg said.
Burg said there are three dedicated community rooms, a computer room/library and an exercise room in the complex. Twelve of the units are one-bedroom and 24 are two-bedroom units, and 92 percent of units are rent-restricted for seniors who are on fixed incomes.
Additionally, Burg said, the units are energy efficient, and the building itself is “green,” meaning environmentally friendly.
PIRHL Developers also worked on Uniontown Family Homes, which are 30 single-family, rent-to-own homes in the city. Those homes were filled in 2009.
Uniontown Mayor Ed Fike lauded the project, and said he had “goosebumps” standing in the finished building.
“This ribbon-cutting ceremony represents a great day for the city of Uniontown and its residents. It signifies the continuation of a commitment to expand new housing development in the city’s older neighborhoods,” Fike said. “The Maple Garden Apartments complex provides another step in Uniontown’s Elm Street project and the revitalization of the Gallatin Avenue area, making a better place for Uniontown residents to live, work and raise their families,” Fike said.
Martin encouraged anyone interested in the apartments to come and see them.
“I can only say that anybody who is considering moving into a situation like this, at this time in their lives, I hope they really will consider it and come by and take a look. It’s a beautiful place to live, the apartments are lovely, I think you’ll love them. I know that I love living here,” she said.
For more information or to obtain an application for the apartment complex, contact Uniontown Family Homes Office at 8 Diamond St., Uniontown, or call 724-550-4029.