Carson City pursues senior housing complex expansion

A new Carson City senior affordable-housing project is making plans for expansion on newly available city land, even before its first phase is built.

With the city looking to buy Carson-Tahoe Hospital's Rehabilitation Center to house health, welfare and counseling services, it looks as though a lot next to the rehab center is open for development. The hospital has the right of first refusal on developing the city-owned lot, but City Manager Linda Ritter said the hospital's interest in the land would go with the building.

The likely use of the land, Ritter said, would be an addition to a budding senior citizen affordable-housing project on adjacent land, which also happens to be near the senior center on Beverly Drive.

Autumn Village, an apartment complex for low-income seniors now under construction between Long Street and Beverly Drive, is being headed up by the Carson City Senior Citizen's Center.

"For us (the senior center) and the seniors in the community, this is really a wonderful thing," said Janice McIntosh, senior center director.

The senior center received 89 applications for 47 units that will be available once construction is complete, sometime this winter, on the first Autumn Village complex.

"The need is very desperate here," McIntosh said.

The units of a second affordable apartment complex would likely be available to senior citizens whose income is between 30 percent and 60 percent of the area's median income. The first complex accepted seniors with incomes 30 percent to 50 percent of the median income.

The Carson City Board of Supervisors, which on Thursday voted to pursue purchasing the rehab building for $4.5 million, has scheduled a special meeting at 9 a.m. Monday to vote on whether to convey the Long Street lot to the Carson City Senior Citizens Center.

- Contact reporter Cory McConnell at cmcconnell@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1217.