Island Elderly Housing will open 15 new apartments
By Dan Cabot - July 20, 2006
Island Elderly Housing (IEH), the Vineyard's largest affordable-housing success story, is ready to offer 15 new federally subsidized rental apartments. IEH tenants pay approximately 30 percent of their annual income in rent, an average of $250 per month, including utilities.
To qualify, an applicant must be 62 years old or older and have an annual income of under $25,100 ($28,700 if a couple). If you qualify, you'll have to hurry. The deadline for applications is August 7.
The apartments are in three new buildings due to be completed on Nov. 1, two at Aidylberg on Wing Road in Oak Bluffs and one at Hillside Village in Vineyard Haven. Each building will have five apartments suitable for one or two persons, and one apartment in each building will be able to accommodate a person confined to a wheelchair.
Nearly ready for tenants, 15 new federally subsidized rental apartments are about to become available through the work of Island Elderly Housing.
IEH director Carol Lashnits expects that there will be more than 15 applicants for the 15 apartments. Applicants who pass a preliminary screening will be entered in three drawings to be held on August 9, one for each building. If they pass a more rigorous check of their eligibility, winners will have choice, in order, of the apartments. The sixth person in each building's final list will be first on the waiting list for that building.
The buildings operated by IEH have all been built with federal or state grants and are supported by more than $600,000 per year in rent subsidies. The current lottery is for three structures financed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD rules require a separate non-profit corporation for each building. Thus, IEH is actually a dozen non-profit corporations, and each one has its own waiting list. There are already 50 persons on waiting lists for the 150 other apartments operated by IEH. Ms. Lashnits stresses that persons on those lists must reapply for the new buildings.
IEH manages 165 rental apartments, mostly for persons 62 and older. Hillside Village in Vineyard Haven and Woodside Village in Oak Bluffs, both on the Vineyard Haven-Edgartown Road, are the largest. The Margaret C. Love House in Vineyard Haven has five studio apartments.
Although IEH housing is for residents who are capable of independent living, tenants do receive support services, including the opportunity to participate in communal dinners three times a week, access to three trips per week in the IEH van, some extra care services at a subsidized cost, a computer course, and an exercise program. Ms. Lashnits estimates that these extra amenities cost IEH about $50,000 per year and are not funded by any federal or state programs. IEH depends on fundraising efforts to be able to provide these services.
