More than half of Prairie View senior housing units leased

More than half of the planned 32 units at the Prairie View Senior Residences complex at the south end of Holton have been leased, according to Tom Bishop, president and CEO of Homestead Affordable Housing, which is developing the complex.

The first set of interviews with lease applicants occurred earlier this month, Bishop said, and a sig­nificant amount of interest in the new senior housing complex has translated into 17 of the units being leased. A second round of applicant interviews has been scheduled for Thursday, he added.

“We’re getting ready to have an­other full day of meetings with folks,” Bishop said. “I think the progress is going well, and I’m sure we’ll have them fully leased by the time we’re done with that meet­ing.”

That’s not to say that anyone who’s interested in leasing one of the complex’s units should refrain from submitting a lease application, he noted.

“Anybody who’s interested should get in touch with us,” Bishop said. “By the time we’re done with construction in March, all of these units should be leased.”

However, some of the complex’s tenants won’t have to wait until March to move into their new homes. Bishop said work on the first unit or two is scheduled to wrap up by the end of October, followed by more units being com­pleted in November and December. Frame work on housing units is scheduled to begin this week, he added, and lumber for that work was brought to the construction site and unloaded Friday.

Prairie View Senior Residences is being developed as a high-qual­ity, en­ergy-efficient housing com­plex for its eventual residents, intended to be people at least 55 years of age. Plans are for the complex to be built as 10 duplexes and three four-plexes, it was re­ported.

Each of the 32 units is designed with modern appliances, senior-friendly amenities, a concrete safe room and a private entry with a porch area, with some of the units designed to have a single-car ga­rage and a private patio, it was re­ported. The com­plex will also have a community center that features exercise equip­ment, a computer center with inter­net access, a li­brary and an activity area to en­courage seniors to stay active.

Successful lease applicants will have annual contracts, it was reported, and rent is determined by gross annual income, which cannot exceed 60 percent of the area’s median income. Income guidelines for residents are set at no more than $27,600 for a one-person household, $31,500 for two, $35,460 for three and $39,360 for four.

Local, state and federal resources — including $5.6 million in hous­ing revenue bonds approved by the Holton City Commission — are being used to build the complex, it was reported. More information on Prairie View Senior Residences may be found at www.homesteadks.org or by call­ing the Homestead office in Holton at 364-0110.