Homes for aged on schedule

Construction continues on two new independent-living communities being built by the Albany Diocese for senior citizens: Avila, for well-off seniors, and a middle-income housing complex on the campus of St. Anthony-on-Hudson Friary in Rensselaer, tentatively named Franciscan Heights.

AVILA

According to Joseph Pofit, director of long-term care campuses and senior housing for the Diocese through Catholic Charities, the cottage portion of Avila's 152 units is 90 percent complete. The apartments that will make up the rest of the complex are about half finished.

At the moment, he said, siding is being put on the apartments; and wiring, plumbing and ductwork are being done. Framing and roofing are also under way for a "town center" that will house the complex's dining rooms, swimming pool, library, club rooms and other common areas.

Of the community's 152 units, 125 are already reserved. Mr. Pofit said a meeting with future residents was recently held so they could choose from "extras," like Berber carpets, Corian countertops or customized closets and bathrooms.

Albany's Pine Bush Commission is in charge of the wooded area of Avila's 23-acre campus but has not yet begun construction on planned walking trails there, the director noted.

Avila's office, originally located in Colonie Center, has been moved on-site, adjacent to a finished model unit that prospective residents can tour by appointment. Christy Polacko has been hired as director of Avila, and a luncheon is scheduled on March 25 for her to meet residents.

FRANCISCAN HEIGHTS

In Rensselaer, a corporation called Franciscan Heights, formed by the Diocese and the Conventual Franciscan community, hopes to open its housing community in spring 2005. Mr. Pofit said the corporation has its building permit and is negotiating with banks as it plans a ground-breaking ceremony in May.

The name "Franciscan Heights" is still uncertain, Mr. Pofit added, because Catholics in the area are so familiar with the name St. Anthony-on-Hudson for that campus that the Diocese may stick with that instead.

The complex will include 53 one- and two-bedroom apartments for middle-income seniors (those who earn between $17,000 and $35,000 per year), and 32 cottages that will have no income restrictions. Only a dozen cottages were originally planned, but Mr. Pofit said that "interest is there, and we felt we should even out the mix between apartments and cottages."

No advance reservations are being taken for the housing, but people can add their names to a list of more than 200 peers who have already expressed interest in the complex. An 80- to 120-unit assisted-living complex for seniors may be added in the future, as well.

"We're very anxious to start construction," Mr. Pofit told The Evangelist.

(For information on Avila, call 452-4250. To learn more about Franciscan Heights, call DePaul Housing, the Diocese's housing-management corporation, at 459-0183.)

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