21-Unit Low-Income Seniors Project OKd

The City Council has approved plans for a 21-unit low-income housing project for seniors, despite protests from nearby homeowners who fear their property values will drop.

The proposed Bowen Courts development would be at Yorktown Avenue and Lake Street, within the Huntington Classics neighborhood. The city bought the land in 1993 to build low-income housing because the redevelopment district lacks enough low-income housing to meet state requirements.

Several residents who spoke at this week’s council meeting complained that the developer never told them the senior apartments could be built there. They said they were expecting five more Huntington Classics homes.

“Seniors are not being attacked here,” said Milton Inbody, who lives on Lake Street and was one of eight neighbors who spoke out against the project. “What we’re attacking is, my house was bought with full knowledge of five homes going there.”

Last year, the city Planning Commission denied 5 to 0 the request to build the apartments, saying the project would create too much traffic and was incompatible with the neighborhood.

But the city staff made design changes to more closely resemble neighboring homes, reduced the density and appealed the panel’s decision to the council.