San Gabriel Valley : HUD Will Fund Senior Apartments
Some relief may be in sight for Monterey Park senior citizens who have to wait as long as eight years for subsidized housing.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced funding for the development of a $5-million, 67-apartment complex for senior citizens on a vacant city lot at Ramona and Newmark avenues. Construction of the project, a partnership between the Monterey Park Redevelopment Agency and the nonprofit TELACU Development Corp., is expected to begin in a year, said Kelvin G. Tainatongo, the city’s director of economic development.
“We’re just trying to meet the demand for affordable senior housing,” Tainatongo said.
To land an apartment in either of the city’s two senior housing complexes, he said, applicants now wait three to eight years.
Money for the development would come mostly from HUD funds earmarked for senior housing, Tainatongo said. The city, he said, plans to contribute about $270,000 for such amenities as balconies, a pick-up circle and carports, for which federal funds cannot be used.
Seniors would be required to pay only 30% of their income as rent, regardless of how much they make. Senior citizens who earn 80% or less of Monterey Park’s median income will be eligible.
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