Senior complex fills a long-term need
Development of the Vista Meadows affordable complex for senior
citizens should help start to fill a big need in Hollister while
also giving the local economy a boost.
Last week, officials with South County Housing, Mid-Peninsula
Housing, the city, the county and many others celebrated the
construction of the 72-unit apartment complex on East Park Street,
near Rancho San Justo Middle School. It is an ideal location and
signals a welcome addition not only in the neighborhood, but also
in a city where the affordable senior housing supply lacks
severely.
Senior complex fills a long-term need
Development of the Vista Meadows affordable complex for senior citizens should help start to fill a big need in Hollister while also giving the local economy a boost.
Last week, officials with South County Housing, Mid-Peninsula Housing, the city, the county and many others celebrated the construction of the 72-unit apartment complex on East Park Street, near Rancho San Justo Middle School. It is an ideal location and signals a welcome addition not only in the neighborhood, but also in a city where the affordable senior housing supply lacks severely.
Part of the shortage of local senior housing, which often causes additional stress on families, has to do in recent years with the state moratorium against new sewer hookups after the wastewater spill in 2002. With that moratorium lifted, South County Housing went back to work, partnered with Mid-Peninsula, and obtained all the necessary funding, including federal stimulus dollars, to get the project off the ground.
Those groups deserve credit for ensuring the project, which had been within a week of obtaining a building permit when the moratorium hit, did not fall by the wayside. It is a worthy endeavor, despite the hefty $9 million cost, because there are long waiting lists for the city’s scarcity of offerings to low- and very low-income seniors, many of whom end up living with other family members before space becomes available. As the Baby Boom generation ages that gap can only widen, so the recent progress must continue well beyond Vista Meadows.
Aside from helping to fill an obvious need, there are several other benefits to the project.
It should provide an immediate boost to the local economy, while creating 60 to 70 full-time jobs during the construction.
The area itself will provide seniors with decent access to business corridors and the bus transportation system.
It will include such pleasantries as a community center, gardens and a barbecue area.
And the designers have included solar panels to reduce the long-term energy costs.
Overall, local leaders have taken a big step in the right direction toward filling an immediate and long-term need in Hollister.
