Development adds affordable housing for seniors

Some seniors fear the county is growing too expensive, study shows

Montgomery County’s elderly population, which increased 86 percent to 92,500 between 1980 and 2000, is expected to grow by an additional 65 percent to 152,648 by 2020, according to a May report from Towson University’s Center for Productive Aging.

Affordable housing is a major concern for the area’s seniors, those older than 65, the study found, and many are concerned about being forced out of the county by new development.

‘‘This is a very wealthy state, yet among us there are many who cannot financially make it,” Gloria Gary Lawlah, state Secretary of Aging, said at Thursday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Seniors in the county are more ethnically and geographically diverse than their predecessors and less likely to be found only in urban centers, according to the Towson study.

Elderly residents want to remain independent without becoming isolated in their suburban homes, and they are concerned that the county is becoming too expensive for those on fixed incomes, the study found.

‘‘At least we have some options for seniors in the upcounty now — there was a time that we didn’t,” said Catherine Matthews, director of the Upcounty Regional Services Center in Germantown. ‘‘We have a lot of vibrant seniors that are on the go. They can move into a condo, apartment, or be in a community of people who are in the same part of their lives. ...We just have to make sure we have more affordable housing for seniors who would like to stay in a single-family house that’s maybe a little bit smaller or not as isolated.”

The $15.6 million senior housing complex was developed as a public-private partnership by Bethesda-based nonprofit Victory Housing Inc. and the church. County funding included $7.6 million in bond financing from the Housing Opportunities Commission and a $4.3 million loan from the Department of Housing and Community Affairs, while the state provided tax credits.

‘‘More congregations are being asked by their congregation members to provide all kinds of things, not just services and programs but infrastructure,” Matthews said. ‘‘...It’s just a natural progression for congregations that have the resources and the land. They see the need to help with things like housing.”

The project was a natural extension of the church’s goals, said Tina Kim, president of Commercial Development & Investment and a deacon at the church.

‘‘We always wanted to be a church that’s actually known as a church on the move, to make an impact on the community,” she said.

In addition to the 1,200-seat church, the property boasts a theater, clinic, beauty salon, computer room and exercise room. Fifty-two apartments had been rented as of last week, Kim said.