Salvation Army given $5.2 million grant for senior housing plan

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has awarded a $5.2 million grant to the Salvation Army to help create a much-needed low-income senior housing complex in North Las Vegas.

The grant was awarded to fund Silvercrest, the proposed 60-unit senior housing complex to be built at Cheyenne Avenue and Equador Street near the Community College of Southern Nevada Cheyenne Campus.

The complex will be located next to the Salvation Army at 2828 E. Cheyenne Ave.

Lt. Col. Jim Sullivan of the Salvation Army said Silvercrest will be the first senior housing project run by the Salvation Army in the Las Vegas Valley. Silvercrest is modeled after similar HUD housing units around the Southwest.

Maj. Eda Hokom, divisional secretary for the Salvation Army Southwest headquarters, said there are 34 senior housing projects in Arizona, Texas, and Nevada.

Sullivan said he has already contacted an architect to begin design plans for the project. Sullivan estimates it could take one year to break ground for the project.

Sullivan said the housing complex will consist of two buildings containing one-bedroom units. Seniors will only pay 30 percent of their total income for rent.

"We're really excited about the grant," he said. "There was a real need and we were concerned about the North Las Vegas community. We have a lot of low-income housing in North Las Vegas, but not low-income housing for seniors."

In a conference call Thursday afternoon, Sens. Harry Reid and Richard Bryan, both D-Nev., along with Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., thanked HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo for the award.

Cuomo said from Washington, D.C., that there was "ferocious" competition for the grant. Nationwide, HUD has awarded more than $750 million in such assistance this week.

"This is a tremendous opportunity for Southern Nevada," Reid said. "The Salvation Army has been an integral part of all the good things that happen in North Las Vegas. We're proud of the work they've done."

archive