Exciting Plans for Senior Housing Community, Senior-Friendly Living District
By lyndsaycarlisle | Redevelopment & Revitalization | Sep 27th
Adjacent to Trinity CME Church lies a vacant lot that will soon be converted into the Martindale-on-the-Monon’s premier senior living community. The space at East 23rd Street and Dr. Andrew J. Brown Avenue may not seem like much more than grass and tree stumps, but it is actually at the heart of the Smart Growth Redevelopment District centered on East 22nd Street and the Monon Trail. The District was selected as one of five national pilots by a partnership between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Federal Department of Transportation and will soon bring many improvements to the neighborhood, including investments in housing, redevelopment of brownfield sites, investments in enhanced transportation and infrastructure, and economic development initiatives that will bring more business to the neighborhood.
In addition to being a central site in the Martindale-on-the-Monon neighborhood’s redevelopment, the senior housing community will also be central to future plans for a Senior-Friendly Living District. This district will bring needed quality of life improvements to the area so that retiring seniors may “age in place,” avoiding displacement and isolation. By staying in their own communities rather than moving to senior housing far away, area residents will be able to live close to their families and life-long friends.
As the senior citizen population continues to grow in the area, keeping seniors connected to their communities is a mounting concern. Development Concepts is proactively addressing this concern by not only providing housing for the area’s senior citizens but also providing senior-centered community development, which takes into account seniors’ needs and pleasures both in the building and out in the community. Creating opportunities for seniors to volunteer, live, and play in the neighborhood that they have lived in most of their lives is a key piece of the overall development plan. As the neighborhood evolves to meet this vision, it will become a place that current residents will want to stay in as they age as well.
The senior housing community builds on developments centered in the National Design District, which include the National Apartments and The Project School, and will add yet another innovative project that will serve to further spur the area’s growth. The DCI Team has been working diligently on preparing plans for the development and is looking forward to the project’s implementation.