By Lisa Schick

Prince Albert senior housing finished

Mar 15, 2011 | 6:13 AM

The project has been in planning for five years and has been under construction for another 12 months, and residents will now be able to move in as of Apr. 1.

The Prince Albert Community Housing Society’s 18-unit affordable housing initiative for seniors will be finished this month.

Linda Boyer, president of the society, said this project was sorely needed in the city.

“The rents have increased substantially in the last few years and therefore we’re finding that our applications for seniors is growing more and more every month,” Boyer said.

The 18-unit, single level garden apartment includes 16 two-bedroom units and two wheelchair accessible, one-bedroom units.

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All of the units are already rented out except for the two wheelchair accessible units, and there is already a waiting list for the other 16.

Boyer said some of the applicants had to drop out of the process because the $650 rent, much lower than market rates, was still too high for them.

The units were awarded on a needs basis.

Boyer said the project was a success and that the residents are excited about their new homes.

“We’re very proud of our project, it turned out very well and the seniors are just ecstatic that are moving in.”

Planning for the apartment complex began in 2006, but the funds for the project came from the federal government’s Economic Action Plan that was put together to combat the recession in 2009.

The action plan gave $2 billion to new and existing social housing, allocating $400 million for new rental housing for low income seniors across the country – the Prince Albert project received $2.3 million of those funds.

lschick@panow.com