DePaul to build once more

As it marks its 20th anniversary, DePaul Housing Management recently announced another reason to celebrate: By 2000, it expects to open Fontbonne Senior Apartments, its tenth apartment building for low-income senior citizens of the Albany Diocese.

DePaul, a non-profit corporation sponsored by the Diocese, received nearly $4.4 million in funding for the project from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The new facility will be located on Carondelet Drive in Latham, adjacent to three other DePaul buildings. Construction is expected to begin next April; the building may open as early as October.

Getting chosen

"I'm really very happy about this!" exclaimed executive director Sister Grace Diaz, SNJM. She explained that DePaul applied for the funding for three years in a row, but the competition had been fierce.

The application process itself can be wearying, she added. DePaul had to include not just data on its plan for the building, but also information from the architect, proof that it could still buy the land by the time the application was accepted and letters of support for the project from people in the community.

"They [at HUD] don't want to award the money and then take 10 years to get through zoning," said Sister Grace.

Local need

To the director, it was worth the effort: She is unsure how many more years such funding will be available, so she hoped to accommodate the growing number of senior citizens expected to live in the area in the future.

"There's a lot of statistical data saying the number of elderly in the northeast is expected to increase dramatically, especially those 85 and older," she said. "I'm looking to the future."

When the funding finally came through, she said, it was a surprise to those at DePaul. About $3.5 million will cover construction; the remainder is slated for rent subsidies for residents for the first five years.

More to come

Fontbonne will feature 50 one-bedroom apartments for low-income seniors. Sister Grace hopes that its opening is just one more step in meeting the needs of a variety of income levels.

In coming years, she would like to see DePaul open facilities "that would allow us to have the income group above what we're currently serving. I think it's a great need."

In the meantime, she said, "it is exciting!"

(For information on the housing, contact DePaul Housing Management at 459-0183.)