An assisted-living facility that could open as early as next year provides "a sorely-needed housing option for our seniors," Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton said.
Evergreen Partners plans to build a 115-unit assisted-living facility to be known as Canada Farms Assisted Living Facility on a site located off South Sare Road on property originally intended to be used for commercial development.
The assisted-living facility, which still needs to clear a city council vote related to taxes, will be aimed at people age 62 or older with an income at 60 percent or less of the area median income. That means it will serve seniors qualifying for Medicaid who make less than $15,600 annually. It would serve that group for at least 30 years.
"This is a severely underserved group of seniors in our area," Hamilton said during a Monday morning news conference. "Over the next decades, this facility, if completed, will offer dignity and help to hundreds of seniors and families struggling to make ends meet."
The nearest comparable facility currently is located about 50 miles south of Bloomington.
Kerry Conway, executive director of Area 10 Agency on Aging, said the construction of a facility here will make a huge difference in the lives of those seniors who cannot live completely on their own but don't yet need to live in a nursing home, as assisted living is when a senior needs help with daily activities such as dressing, walking, bathing and cooking but doesn't need full care.