Ground breaks on affordable senior housing project
Published 1:13 pm Thursday, September 7, 2023
From left to right: State Representative Kevin Crutchfield, Mayor Karen Alexander, Wendy Ford, Lorenzo Claxton, Stephanie Blair, Mayor Pro Tem Tamara Sheffield, and State Representative Harry Warren do the honors of breaking ground at the project site. Brad Dountz/Salisbury Post.
This now empty building will soon house seniors in affordable apartments. Brad Dountz/Salisbury Post.
Charles Rufty, the previous owner of the building, had four of his daughters come to the ground breaking: (front left) Lorna Medinger, (front right) Lisa Pope, (back left) Tzena Wicker, and (back right) Sheila Stowers. Brad Dountz/Salisbury Post.
SALISBURY— The vacant building that once was a Ford dealership and City Consignment Co. will soon become the location for the Ford City Motor Lofts, an affordable senior housing project that will be co-owned by two non-profits, Osceola Council on Aging and The Mid-Atlantic Foundation.
On September 7, Osceola Council on Aging and HUD North Carolina Field Office hosted a groundbreaking at the former Ford Motor City Company located at 419 South Main Street. The site will have 64 total units that includes two studio apartments, 38 one bedroom apartments, and 24 two bedroom apartments. It will also have a playground, a fitness center, computer room, and laundry. Many resources like congregate meals, history, art, urban gardening, music, and yoga will be available.
Originally from central Florida, Osceola Council on Aging had an opportunity to do a HUD grant for the property, so they can get more tax credits to build the property and make it affordable for residents. “Our mission is to enable independence and self sufficiency for seniors,” President and CEO of Osceola Council on Aging Wendy Ford said.
When considering to expand beyond their home state, Ford seized at the chance to be a part of Salisbury. “There is a need for senior housing everywhere and we know that, affordable senior housing, HUD housing, assisted housing like that. We are so excited to have an adaptive reuse and a new building and to be able to really house 64 apartments.”
Ford says she has a consultant in Salisbury that helped acclimate her to the area and introduced her to many local organizations like the Rowan Chamber of Commerce and especially Rufty Holmes Senior Center. “Because I knew that would be the hub of what I needed to do, to get those seniors aware of the affordable housing that we can create for them,” Ford said.
Construction will begin in early 2024.
A more in-depth version of this story will run this weekend.
