New elderly housing coming next autumn

WINSTED — The Winchester Housing Authority (WHA) is on track to begin construction of its newest senior housing community this fall.

“We’re right on course,� Fred Newman, WHA’s executive director, told The Journal Tuesday.

Carriage Maker’s Place, which will be built at the upper end of Gay Street, will offer 17 one- and two-bedroom apartments to area residents age 55 and older.

The new facility, once completed, will be the fourth senior housing complex operated by the authority in Winsted. The group also manages Greenwoods Gardens, Chestnut Grove and Laurel Commons.

Newman said the authority’s development corporation recently received a $200,000 loan from the state to fund the preliminary planning portion of the project.

Newman said this has allowed the corporation to hire an architect to finalize the required development plans.

“They are hard at work on the prints, which we will then present to the Planning and Zoning Commission,� he said, adding that the plans are expected to be completed by the end of this month.

The total cost of the project is estimated at $3.5 million.

Newman said the leadership at the Winsted-based Northwest Community Bank has worked “very diligently� with the authority’s development corporation to fund the construction of Carriage Maker’s Place.

“We’re excited about partnering with a local bank,� he said.

The prospect of a new senior community seems to be a popular idea among the area’s older residents, with 32 individuals already requesting that their name be entered onto the facility’s official “interest list.�

Carriage Maker’s Place, however, is not the only project on the authority’s front burners. Its development corporation is also hoping to construct a new addition to one of its existing senior housing facilities, Chestnut Grove.

The complex, at 80 Chestnut St., currently has 80 apartments: 60 efficiency units and 20 one-bedroom apartments.

The proposed expansion project seeks to add another 26 one bedroom apartments.

Differing from Chestnut Grove’s current age restriction of 55, the new addition would require that at least one household member be age 62 or older.

Also, following HUD guidelines, applicants would be required to meet gross income limits of $30,000 per year.

The Chestnut Grove apartment complex was built in 1971 with funding from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The authority has once again sought out HUD’s financial assistance for the expansion project, applying for development grant through the federal department.

“But we will not know until April or May if the addition has been approved,� Newman said.

The authority had applied for a separate federal grant to install an elevator in the existing Chesnut Grove complex, but recently found out that it had not been approved.

Newman said, however, that the proposed addition does call for another elevator to be installed as part of its construction.

Both Carriage Maker’s Place and the Chestnut Grove addition are part of the authority’s five-year strategic plan.

As the senior population continues to grow in the region, so have waiting lists at all affordable housing facilities in the region.

And so, Winsted Housing Authority officials are hoping that the two projects, if approved, will make available several new, affordable housing units for lower-income residents.

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