CLEARFIELD – Clearfield County is seeking funds to support the Leonard Street Gardens, a 30-unit, affordable senior housing project.
On Tuesday the commissioners voted to approve the county’s 2017 PHARE funding application in support of the project, as presented by Planning Director Jodi Brennan.
According to Brennan, the Northern Cambria Community Development Corp. (NCCDC) will submit for the fifth time to the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency for tax credits to develop the Leonard Street Gardens.
The senior housing facility will be located within the Leonard Street Professional Office Park. It will consist of 30 newly-constructed affordable units, all of which will target seniors ages 62 years and older.
More specifically, Brennan said the facility will have 24 one-bedroom and six two-bedroom units with four fully accessible units, as well as one equipped for the hearing-visually impaired.
She said that two of the accessible units will have rents affordable to households at or below 20 percent the area median income. Fourteen units will be affordable to households at or below 50 percent of the AMI; another 14 units will be affordable to households at or below 60 percent of the AMI.
The Leonard Street Gardens will also offer a common area, including a community room with a kitchen, management/support services, a fitness center, activity/craft room and tenant storage for every unit.
According to Brennan, NDC Real Estate Management will be the management agent and the NCCDC will be the support services provider. The support services will include a wide variety of planned activities, which will help and stabilize seniors as they transition through the next stages of their lives.
In support of this senior housing project, Brennan noted that the county had previously committed Affordable Housing Trust Funds.
She went on to explain that it’s currently seeking to submit a PHARE funds application simultaneously with NCCDC’s tax credit application to secure an award in the amount of $100,000 in PHARE funds to support the project.
She said the U.S. Census has revealed a growing elderly population and a declining younger population in Clearfield County. She said residents who are 55 years and older represent 37 percent of the overall population, and 27 percent of residents are 62 years and older.
Brennan said a Clearfield County Housing Needs Assessment has identified several solutions to address these issues, including more affordable and available rental units and development of new rental units, especially near amenities.
