New style senior group living community holds groundbreaking
LONDON: A new senior group living community is one step closer to becoming a reality.
A group of investors, First Presbyterian Church members and others in the community held a ceremonial groundbreaking Wednesday for the project, which is called The Hogan and located on South 6th Street.
The project is adjacent to the church, which formerly owned the property. City planning documents state the three-story, 36-unit building — which will only be for those aged 55 and older — could have a max occupancy of 52 people.
Studio units will start at $950 and include cable, internet, heat and all other utilities, a news release announcing the groundbreaking said. The highest-cost units might be closer to $2,000.
Developer Mike Robinson, a Missoula resident of over 15 years, is working with MMW Architects and Quality Construction on the project — two Garden City-based businesses.
“The housing we’re building, we targeted very modest-sized apartments for seniors — most of that is cost driven,” Robinson said. “There are options for seniors who can pay more, but we are targeting seniors in the middle income bracket.”
What makes The Hogan different is the group living aspect — much of the building including kitchens and gathering areas are common spaces. However, individual units will have bathrooms, refrigerators and other necessities normally found in individual apartments.
While the idea of communal housing is not new, this type of senior living is Missoula is a little different than what’s currently on the market, developers explained during the public approval process.
Seniors face numerous issues in finding secure housing as they age and vouchers can be hard to find. The average rent in Missoula is over $1,100, which can be difficult on fixed incomes.
The project received significant public and private support — Robinson said there are 20 investors already on board. Members of the First Presbyterian Church, the former land owners of the plot of land being developed, have also been critical to the project.
There was also outreach with Missoula Aging Services, and city housing staff were involved in the design-review process.
“We’re really living in crisis. It’s projects like this that I’m really, really proud to be a part of because they represent our best efforts to solve that problem,” said Colin Lane, a member of the church and an architect with MMW, during the event. “But we as individuals and we as organizations and churches, as a community, have a chance to stare it in the eye and do what’s right for our neighbors.”
Once completed, the project will be a short walking distance from services along the Hip Strip as well as the Orange Street Food Farm. This was an important facet of the project — the developers wanted the housing to be within walking distance of stores.
The new development is also within two different bus routes. A hope from the beginning has been that Mountain Line will eventually put in a stop near the building.
Parking was a slight concern during the design review process, but those decisions have been made, Robinson said. Some parking spaces will be within the building, while an agreement was also reached with First Presbyterian Church to expand their parking lot and rent some of the spaces.
Some lumber from the houses formerly on the property was recovered and will be used in the construction of the group living home. This will be tied into a display honoring some of the history of those houses.
The Hogan is named after the late Ed Hogan, a member of the First Presbyterian Church who donated the land over 30 years ago. The church formerly acted as landlord of the property.
“Seniors don’t want to be shipped off to a home, generally they want to be independent and in charge of their lives,” Robinson said. “And that was a big part of what this is.”
