ASHWAUBENON (NBC 26) — Affordable housing is a challenge all over the area and the Village of Ashwaubenon said it's findings ways to meet demand.
Now, a new senior-living apartment complex on Mike McCarthy Way is addressing housing needs amid the demand for more senior-living spaces.
- The Berkshire Ashwaubenon Apartments on Mike McCarthy Way is a senior-living complex and is already at 71% capacity.
- The complex includes 75-units for people over the age of 55. Residents coming from as far as Puerto Rico have moved in.
- Wisconsin DOA Secretary Kathy Blumenfeld toured the facility. Development was funded through the state's Neighborhood Investment Fund.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
"If you can find a place like this you need to move in," Berkshire Ashwaubenon Apartments resident, Jane Anders, said.
Since opening last September, the Berkshire Ashwaubenon Apartments have offered people like Jane Anders a new home.
"Everyone flips when they found out I live here, they're like 'you live by the stadium' and I'm like 'yeah I know,'" Anders said.
The property includes a 75-unit senior-living apartment complex and 15 3-bedroom Townhomes for seniors.
Jane traveled almost 1,000 miles from her home in Virginia to live here.
"Back home was the same situation," Anders said. "Senior have a hard time finding a place to live, especially if you live off social security."
The Village of Ashwaubenon received nearly $5 mil in financial support through the state's neighborhood investment fund
Wisconsin Department of Administration Secretary Kathy Blumenfeld toured the facility Wednesday.
"I think this is a template," Blumenfeld said. "I think this project can be used all over the state, where the community needs are there. To build something just like this, that is inviting."
According to Berkshire, the new development could create 125 temporary or permanent jobs and offer young people more opportunities to buy homes in the area.
"A lot of these seeds were planted all over the state and they're starting to come to fruition and we're seeing the impact that this type of complex can have on a community," Blumenfeld said.
And it's the feeling of community that Anders said matters the most — No matter how far away her old home is.
"When I first got here I left my friends, my family, my doctors, everybody, and had to make all new friends and it was an adjustment but I love it here now," Anders said. "I'm so relaxed, it's great."
Berkshire Ashwaubenon staff said that it's already at 71% capacity and they expect that number to increase in the near future.
