Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001 | 9:51 a.m.
If Julia Anderson had it her way, she'd move tomorrow. The 63-year-old Las Vegas resident can't wait to become one of the first tenants in a new apartment complex for low-income seniors in North Las Vegas.
"I just want to get into the new place as quickly as I can," Anderson said, adding that she has been plagued by roaches in her current home.
Anderson will make the move in less than two weeks, ahead of the Owens Senior Project's official opening on Oct. 11.
Developed by a nonprofit organization, the 72-unit complex is the city's first affordable housing project to receive help from the North Las Vegas redevelopment agency.
In a city that suffers from an affordable housing shortage for seniors, the complex is the second of three that are expected to open this year. The 56-unit Buena Vista Springs apartment complex at Martin Luther King Boulevard and Helen Avenue already opened earlier this year. A 60-unit development on Cheyenne Avenue by the Salvation Army is scheduled for completion later this year.
Agency officials said they're "very delighted" with the Owens complex.
"It has been a very good project in an area that's in great need of development," said Kenny Young, the city's redevelopment manager. While the agency and the city are separate entities, City Council members also serve as board members for the agency.
Although residents of the new complex on the corner of Owens Avenue and Davis Place cannot make more than $11,451 a year, the project's clubhouse does not reflect this.
Visitors and prospective tenants are greeted by crystal chandeliers, fireplaces and cushy armchairs and sofas in the lobby. The game room includes a pool table and leather couches. Computer, exercise and laundry rooms remained empty last week, but project officials said they'd be ready by opening time.
"We believe that regardless of socioeconomic status, you should be able to live in quality," said Dora LaGrande of Community Development Programs Center of Nevada, the company that developed the $4.6 million project. "If you just put cheap stuff that matches the neighborhood, are you raising the bar at all? It's our intent to raise the bar."
LaGrande's company also plans to develop a 70-unit senior complex on nearby Tonopah Avenue. Public hearings on that project before the city's Planning Commission could come as early as October, city officials said.
With monthly rents for a 606-square-foot, one bedroom apartment at $363 and a 760-square-foot, two-bedroom apartment at $438, LaGrande said she had already received calls from people before the place had been advertised for rent.
Anderson, who uses a motorized cart to get around because she cannot stand for more than 10 minutes at a time, recently dropped by her new apartment to figure out where she'll put her furniture.
"I've got a deep freezer," she said, adding that she saves money on food that way because she can buy things that are on sale in larger quantities.
She's also looking forward to making some new friends, she said.
"I've become very solitary," she said.
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