Low-income rooms with a view

QUINCY -- After a decade of false starts, one of the most unusual senior housing developments in the region is rising above the marshes in the Squantum section of Quincy, in the shadow of the luxury Marina Bay community on Boston Harbor.

The 223-unit, low-income Moorings at Squantum Gardens , developed by a private, nonprofit corporation, is scheduled to open early next year. The four-story project is the first large senior housing development in the north end of Quincy, and will lend its tenants a piece of the precious waterfront more often associated with million-dollar homes than low-cost rental units.

"This has been so long anticipated," said Helen Murphy, executive director of Elder Housing Corporation, the developer. "It is a tremendous thing for the seniors who have been waiting in their homes or waiting to move back to the city."

There is already a waiting list of nearly 400 seniors for the one- and two-bedroom rental apartments, Murphy said.

The units, some of which have stunning views of Quincy Bay and the Boston skyline, are designed for seniors making no more than 60 percent of the median income in the area: $35,340 for an individual or $40,380 for a couple. Rents will be $908 for a one-bedroom and $1,082 for a two -bedroom , with heat and hot water included.

The $40 million project is the fifth-largest senior housing development in Quincy, according to data compiled by the city's Office of Constituent Services . The largest senior housing complex in Quincy is the nonprofit 1000 Southern Artery, which has 641 units.

With its prominent waterfront location at the intersection of East Squantum Street and Quincy Shore Drive, Squantum Gardens is a gateway to the Squantum peninsula, Marina Bay, and Wollaston Beach. The attractive setting notwithstanding, the development has had a tough go almost from the start.

"We had to jump through a lot of hoops to make this project a reality," said Mayor William J. Phelan. "I think our persistence paid off."

Phelan's predecessor, James A. Sheets , conceived the plan for senior housing on the 27-acre site, which had been occupied mostly by small, two- and four-unit garden-style apartment buildings built in the 1940s to house military families at the Squantum Naval Air Station next door. When that base closed in the 1950s, personnel and families from the South Weymouth Naval Air Station moved in, but shortly before that base closed in 1997, the Navy vacated the property.

Sheets's original plan was to rehabilitate the buildings and rent them to moderate-income seniors -- people who were priced out of the private housing market but too well-off to qualify for public housing. Sheets persuaded the federal government to transfer the property to the city for $1, and he set up the Elder Housing Corporation, a private nonprofit, to develop and manage the housing.

After studying the condition of the buildings, the corporation determined that the structures could not be renovated, and officials began developing plans for new construction. In 2001, Phelan defeated Sheets in the Quincy mayoral election, but the new administration continued to support the Squantum housing plan.

Finding money to build the development, however, became a major stumbling block. Sheets's plan to borrow the money from private lenders proved unfeasible, so Elder Housing began working with state and federal agencies, as well as elected officials, to secure grants and low -interest loans. The process dragged on for years, and at one point, the federal government threatened to take the property back.

Last year, the funding finally fell into place, most of it in the form of state housing grants and loans, according to Murphy. The city of Quincy also put in a crucial $450,000 in federal community grant money at the last minute, she said. The old apartment buildings on the site were demolished in 2003.

In relying on government funding, corporation officials had to dispense with the plan to target moderate-income seniors and instead limit eligibility to low-income tenants.

Moderate income is defined as 80 percent of median income, which amounts to approximately $46,300 for an individual and $52,900 for a couple.

Also omitted from the project was a senior center, which was in the original plan but eliminated because the grants for the project can be spent only on facilities that serve residents of the development.

State Senator Michael W. Morrissey, a Quincy Democrat, said he is glad to see new buildings replacing the dilapidated military housing, but he noted that some seniors are unhappy with the more stringent eligibility requirements.

"It gets rid of an eyesore, but I don't think it's what people expected," Morrissey said.

Elder Housing has used a first-come, first-served policy for leasing the apartments.

When the rentals were first offered, lines formed at the housing office , and at least one senior camped overnight.

The development consists of two buildings, the first of which is scheduled to open March 1. The second is expected to be ready for occupancy in June.

Robert Preer can be reached at preer@globe.com.