Housing rehab plan gets $2.8m

With the recent approval of a $2.8 million federal grant, the long-delayed redevelopment of Ayer's Pleasant Street School property could get going late next year, according to Ken Martin, head of the Ayer Housing Authority.

An effort is underway to obtain $1 million more from a number of state sources for a senior housing project that will feature 21 affordable apartments, Martin said in a telephone interview last week.

Once the additional funding is in place, he said, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, which awarded the $2.8 million grant, will review plans. It is possible, he added, that construction could begin in the fall of 2007 and be completed in 10 to 12 months. Martin said the money will be used by the nonprofit Montachusett Home Care Corp. of Leominster to rehabilitate the historic building, which was constructed in 1893. It has been mostly vacant for 20 years.

The Housing Authority will lease the 1.8-acre property to the home care corporation. At a May 2005 Town Meeting, voters approved turning over the property to the Housing Authority.

In October 2004, Town Meeting voters had tabled a proposal, backed by the Ayer Historical Commission and the Ayer Office of Community and Economic Development, to convert the site to an 18-unit condominium project.

That plan drew strong opposition from some residents of Pleasant Street, who expressed concerns about traffic.

But last year the neighbors dropped their objections, saying they were comfortable with a plan that would benefit low-income seniors.

"This project couldn't have happened without the cooperation of town officials and residents," Martin said.

Town Administrator Shaun Suhoski added, "The federal assistance is welcome news in that it will help fulfill a longstanding goal of finding a productive reuse for the historic school building while also providing a much-needed boost to our affordable housing stock for seniors."

To be eligible for residency at what will be called the Apartments At Pleasant Street School, someone 62 year of age and older must prove that his or her annual income does not exceed $26,000, said Margaret Woovis, executive director of Montachusett Home Care. Monthly rents likely will be in the $100 to $300 range, she said.

The Housing Authority currently has 61 affordable apartments for seniors at 18 Pond St., Martin said, in a facility was opened nearly 24 years ago.