MOUNT VERNON – The Mount Vernon Municipal Planning Commission recently approved a recommendation by the Knox County Land Bank and the Area Agency on Aging to rezone two parcels on North Norton Street so eight affordable housing units could be built.
The Knox County Land Revitalization Corp. applied to rezone 301 and 303 North Norton St. from R-1 Single Family District to Planned Commercial Development District (PCDD).
The parcels are owned by the Land Bank to redevelop due to their current condition and proximity to Heartland Commerce Park, the former Siemens manufacturing facility location.
Sam Filkins, vice president of the Area Development Foundation, said the land adjacent to these parcels is zoned PCDD, so the request was not spot zoning. Construction of affordable senior housing can help preserve the residential neighborhood feel, he said.
The fastest-growing population in the city is those age 65 and older, he said.
“Our need for senior housing is only going to get greater and our need for affordable senior housing for folks who are on fixed incomes is also great,” Filkins said.
The single-floor units will have doorways wide enough for wheelchairs, which he said will help residents stay in their homes for a long time.
Some seniors on fixed incomes are paying a high price for housing, using more than 50% of their income toward housing, which he said is not affordable.
He said they hope this will become a pilot program.
Seniors surveyed at The Station Break told the commission it was most important to them to live where they grew up and live around their family and friends, Filkins said.
Nicole Williams, chief operating officer at the Area Agency on Aging, said they had received $200,000 from the Knox County Commission to start the project. She said they will continue to seek additional funding.
The agency has a similar project with 12 residential units in Mansfield, she said. They have seen that seniors want better property. They’ve aged in their home and want to continue to age in place. But with homes on multiple levels, such as having the washer and dryer downstairs, makes it difficult.
“If we give them the ability to move somewhere that is friendlier to them, then that home also opens up as a starter home for someone else,” Williams said.
The Area Agency on Aging will provide support services, such as a community health worker who will be on-site once a week, she said.
It will be owned by the Area Agency on Aging, which will maintain the property, Williams said. The organization will use funding sources such as the $150,000 it received in the Utility Assistance Plus program to help potential residents who may need help with one-time purchases, such as a mattress, a washer, a refrigerator or a recliner, she said.
The units will be rent controlled to remain affordable for seniors on a fixed income. The Area Agency on Agency will offer services to enable them to stay in their homes, and will handle yard and property maintenance.
A preliminary design for the units, configured in two single-story, four-unit buildings, includes one bedroom, a bathroom, a kitchen and a living room on one level.
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