Seniors, Planners & … Cigars?
York County’s Senior Housing Partnership in Action
The historic former Merchants Cigar Box Manufacturing building in Dallastown, PA, soon to become Lombard Commons. Photo courtesy of the YCPC.
Everything’s better when you’re working together. A partnership between York County Community Foundation’s Embracing Aging initiative and the York County Planning Commission is learning, listening and acting to create affordable housing options for seniors that meets their needs as they age. A particular concern is the Partnership’s recent observation that affordable senior housing development in the county slowed down at just the same time as the senior population increased by nearly 20%.
Lombard Commons in Dallastown Borough, where the senior population has risen by over 43% since 2000, is an answer. The historic former Merchants Cigar Box Manufacturing building, sitting underused for a decade, will soon become 43 affordable senior housing units for ages 62+ located in a fully developed, mixed-use neighborhood close to downtown and a bus route. The project includes supportive services for residents and is financed by a mix of state and federal funding and private equity.
Borough officials were supportive throughout the approval process, wanting to see the building once again take an active role in the community. The developer is a member of the Senior Housing Partnership and has received preliminary approval for placement of the building on the National Register of Historic Places. The project is also seeking LEED silver certification by producing highly sealed and insulated living spaces with fresh air transfers, energy star appliances, and green building materials.
If you’d like to learn more about the York County Senior Housing Partnership or Lombard Commons, please direct questions to Dory Brannon, Chief of Housing at the York County Planning Commission, by email to dbrannon@ycpc.org.
tags: Elderly Housing, Housing Planning