From left, Rod Hochman of Providence Health and Services, Deputy County Executive Fred Jarrett, King County Council member Jane Hague, Rep. Joan McBride, Redmond Mayor John Marchione and former Redmond City Council president Pat Vache participate in the groundbreaking of Providence John Gabriel House, a 75-unit apartment complex for low-income seniors, last Friday at its future location at 8632 160th Ave. N.E. The complex is slated to open in the fall of 2016. — Image Credit: Andy Nystrom
Redmond Groundbreaking For Affordable Senior-housing Facility
by ANDY NYSTROM, Redmond Reporter Editor
Sep 28, 2015 at 1:00PM updated Oct 2, 2015 at 12:02PM
As local and regional officials spoke last Friday morning, the people assembled in a large grass area of Redmond surveyed the scene and were surely imagining what the space will look like about a year from now.
At the gathering, Providence Supportive Housing broke ground on a new 75-unit senior affordable-housing development at 8632 160th Ave. N.E. in downtown Redmond. The Providence John Gabriel House will serve adults age 62 and older and consist of studios, one- and two-bedroom apartments, a community room, a TV lounge, a library and an outdoor terrace.
The 94,000-square-foot complex will cost $21.5 million to build.
Applications will be available to prospective residents in the summer of 2016 with a planned opening in the fall of 2016.
“This is a model for everyone for putting the elderly right in the middle of this vibrant community,” said Rod Hochman of Providence Health and Services at the groundbreaking.
Deputy County Executive Fred Jarrett noted that King County urgently needs affordable housing for seniors and the Redmond complex is a “truly wonderful and innovative project.”
Jarrett added that the development will be a “connector” to the community since residents will have easy access to the Redmond Regional Library and the Redmond Senior Center, both across the street.
Providence John Gabriel House will also include a PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) center on the ground floor that will provide medical care and social services to seniors who qualify to live in a nursing home and choose to continue to live in the community.
According to Mary Beth Walker, director of marketing and communication for Providence Senior and Community Services, the organization currently operates 14 supportive housing facilities: 10 in Washington, three in Oregon and one in California. Many of their residents were homeless or lived in sub-standard housing before coming to live at Providence.
On the future complex, King County Council member Jane Hague said that it “takes a whole village to make something like this happen,” adding that “we share your commitment in Redmond to make affordable housing possible.”
Redmond Mayor John Marchione welcomes the complex with open arms, noting that from young to older, “Redmond can be a place you live your whole life in.”
The project is made possible through financial support from the City of Redmond, Providence Health and Services, the east King County jurisdictions that are members of A Regional Coalition for Housing (ARCH), King County Department of Community and Human Services, King County Housing Authority and the Washington State Housing Finance Commission.
