Senior Housing Complex Nearing Completion

Low-income senior citizens will soon have an affordable place to call home. At the corner of Palm and Oakland avenues, construction workers are putting the final touches on a 75-unit apartment complex called the Sahara Senior Villas. The brown and yellow building is the first affordable, low-income housing for seniors in the city. "The hope is that this project will help stabilize this neighborhood," said Mark Trabing, Hemet housing and code enforcement manager.

The project is being built with $9 million in federal funding and $3.7 million from community development resources. The city's housing authority put up $400,000 for off-site improvements and streets. "We feel very fortunate in that we were able to secure the financing," said Trabing. "This type of housing doesn't happen on its own -- if it could then we wouldn't have such a need for affordable housing."

The Sahara Senior Villas is designed for extremely low-income senior citizens, aged 62 and older. Rents will range from $150 to $200 a month. Each apartment features one bedroom, one bathroom and a small kitchen with a refrigerator and stove. Trabing said rooms would include pull chords for emergencies. "For affordable housing, the place has a lot of character -- sort of a Mediterranean look," he said. "Landscaping is quite generous. It's going be a quality place to live. It sort of has a campus feel to it."

Hallways are painted bright purple, green and orange. There also is a community room and an outdoor courtyard. Noel Sweitzer, developer consultant with the Los Angeles based-HDSI Management, Inc., said the project provides a place where seniors can feel at home. "It's a happy place to be. Paint is cheap; you don't have to do much to brighten up things," said Sweitzer. "Seniors like colors."

Officials expect to wrap up construction sometime in February with occupancy by March. "It'll meet a real need in town. This is traditionally a retirement community and we have lots of seniors who are currently living in mobile home parks," Trabing said. "Approximately a third of our housing stock are mobile homes. And a lot of those parks are aging and so forth. We have a really good market for affordable senior housing." The developer, Habibi Terrace Inc., hopes to develop the second phase of the project, Oasis Senior Villa, with another 65 apartment units.