Area residents are now able to get on a waiting list for a new apartment complex coming to East Canton.
Testa is the developer of a soon-to-be built apartment and condo development for 55-year-old and older residents that will be located in East Canton.
The development, which is set to be completed by fall of 2022, will be a 40-unit community set aside for seniors who are 55 and older.
The community will consist of one and two bedroom units and is based on income.
The goal of the development is to provide unobstrusive, attractive and practical living spaces that also allow senior citizens to live independetly longer.
One of the things community leaders said is that they understand there are no homes available in the village for young potential home owners to purchase. With the older home owners moving into these apartment and condos, they’re hoping this will put homes on the market for younger families to move into the village.
“We have a really high senior population, so hopefully this allows seniors to get the comfort of not having to care for the outside of their houses anymore, a safe place to live, and allows their homes to be opened up for younger families to come in and buy them,” said Brenda Griffith, HOPE president and Osnaburg Township trustee.
“One of our [the Governance Committee’s] goals is, ‘How do we keep those young people? What do we need to do?’ and one of those responses was we don’t have adequate housing for them to live in,” said Griffith. “Hopefully this, with forty units, should open forty houses. Now, we don’t know what those will be, but most of the houses are in good shape around here. At least, the largest percentage of them.”
Also located on the property will be a community building containing community and program space, a management office and laundry.
In addition to the apartments for rent, HOPE is planning for condo-style housing near the apartments for people wanting to purchase a unit.
The condo association will take care of the exterior chores (lawn, plowing, etc.) so that the senior residents can enjoy home ownership without the risk of taking care of stuff outside of the home and risking a fall.
The new senior housing development is being built on a 6-acre parcel along Wood St N.
The project is the first for the village in more than four decades (1980) and the first senior housing development.
They understand that there is a need in the area, and the waitlist for the units filled up almost instantly. Griffith noted that there is extra space on the property to add buildings.
“We saved space to put in two more units…the funding is the key there. For the units we’re putting in now, we received a [$7.1 million] grant for that,” she said. “We have a space, but, where do we get the money from to put in the additional units. Those grants only come open every two years, so it’s not something that would happen really fast.”
With the new housing project, a need street will be put in.
“That was something that, many years ago, was plotted but never developed. In order to put the market rate housing in, we need to put the street in,” Griffith said. “We’re going to pay to put that street in, and then we’re going to donate it to the village, and they’ll be able to collect their mileage taxes on that road once we get it donated to the village.”
HOPE Inc and Testa plan for an April 2022 ground breaking ceremony with a projected fall completion.
To get added to the waitlist for the senior living apartments (apartment living only), call Testa at 330-928-1988 and follow the prompts.