The first people interested in Shoreline’s new senior residential community were some of the same people staff members at The Blakely leasing office called when their office opened July 1. A month later, those who are curious about the latest housing community for adults 55 and older are busy choosing their units.
The ability to choose one of 20 available floor plans in the 200-unit, six-story building is one advantage to leasing early, according to Denise Weems, community director for The Blakely at Echo Lake Village.
“There’s nothing cookie cutter about the plans,” Weems said. “It comes down to really what your individual tastes are.”
The building developer, Inland Group, was involved with some site work that included the new Dale Turner YMCA and four other apartment buildings at the south end of Echo Lake at North 192nd Street and Aurora Avenue before construction began last summer, said Chuck Daiger, director of land acquisition.
The $23 million project offers seniors studios, one bedroom and two bedroom options ranging from $835 to $1,071. All unit rates, according to Daiger, are restricted to be affordable for households of up to three that earn an income of up to $43,980.
The four other apartment buildings on site will provide a total of 280 market rate apartment units and nine townhomes. An additional 9,028 square feet facing Aurora Avenue North is retail space.
The decision to build affordable senior housing along with market rate units was a relatively easy one, according to Daiger.
“We just felt there was a need for (senior housing) in this area,” he said. “We thought the senior housing would form a nice compatibility here by the new YMCA.”
The new 52,000-square-foot Dale Turner YMCA is scheduled to open Oct. 4 and is located in the northwest corner of the site. Within close proximity is The Blakely, with a main entrance off of North 192nd Street.
Residents can participate in activities at the YMCA and take part in community organized activities in The Blakely’s four different community rooms, a media room with theater seating, exercise and craft rooms and business center, Weems said.
“I plan on doing some movie nights,” she said.
The residential facility is not meant to simply be an apartment building, Daiger agreed.
“The whole idea is to get (residents) out of their rooms and doing things,” he said. “This is not just an apartment building.”
Daiger and Weems expect to begin showing units in September. Residents should start moving into their new home in late September or early October.
“A lot of people have been watching from the ground breaking up so those people have been coming around and calling,” Weems said.
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