CCI members played a key role in getting it located in their
neighborhood
A CCI campaign that started as a way to
keep a 24-hour convenience store out of the neighborhood has ended
with the construction of Des Moines’ first assisted-living
center for low-income seniors.
In the fall of 2003, CCI members worked
with public officials and developers to identify a neighborhood
friendly use for a vacant lot at the corner of Martin Luther King
Parkway and Forest Avenue in Des Moines (across from the CCI offices).
Together, they saw the need for a senior assisted living center
- “one of the greatest unmet housing needs in Des Moines,”
according to a study by the Iowa Department of Elder Affairs.
On January 14, 2006 a 52-unit complex known
as the Rose of Des Moines opened its doors, filling a gap in Des
Moines affordable housing market.
“This is an important victory for
preserving quality of life in our neighborhoods and for seniors
across the city,” said CCI member and neighborhood resident
Robin Ghormley.
THE NEED:
According to a 1/14/06 Des Moines Register article:
• Statewide, the number of people 65 and older will increase
by 52 percent in the next 24 years, from 436,213 to 663,186, according
to Census estimates. The Des Moines area’s elderly population
of 51,000 is expected to nearly double.
• A study completed in 2001 for the Iowa Finance Authority
showed that the average cost of an assisted-living apartment was
between $1,492 and $2,517 per month, even though one in four Iowa
residents 75 and older has a monthly income less than $884. Some
tenants at the Rose have incomes as low as $300 a month.
Posted
3/30/06
Back
To Articles |
