Developer proposes senior complex in N. Versailles

Published: Thursday, Dec. 12, 2013, 3:41a.m. Updated 12 hours ago

An apartment complex for seniors is in development in North Versailles.

Construction of the 40-unit Primrose Apartments is expected to get under way in February or March, with a targeted occupancy date of early 2015, according to developer Hudson Group Inc. of Hermitage.

It's intended to create a community of senior citizens within a building where they live independently in a safe and secure environment, Hudson's director of government services Dana Frankenburg said.

The project is being funded with a $6 million grant, awarded in 2011, from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Section 202 program for elderly housing.

The Community Action Partnership of Mercer County is the sponsor, and will own the building when it is completed. Frankenberg said the project constitutes good use of federal tax dollars.

There is a high need for this type of housing in the North Versailles area, Frankenburg said.

Allen Wagner, who is code enforcement officer for North Versailles, said he sees the facility as a good fit for the township. Wagner noted that approximately 42,000 seniors live within a five-mile radius of the township's Wal-Mart.

The whole Mon Valley is senior citizen rich, Wagner said.

The three-story apartment building will be built on five acres of the old Fillar estate on Denning Way. It's a location that puts it in close proximity to the Giant Eagle and other businesses along Route 30. Wagner, who through marriage has family ties to the previous owners of the land, said the property sat vacant for years and was thought to be undevelopable because of an abandoned petroleum line crossing the site.

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Developer proposes senior complex in N. Versailles