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Senior Residence Opens
September
30, 2008
The Sisters of
St. Joseph of Springfield joined public officials in a
ribbon cutting ceremony today to mark the opening of the
Mont Marie Senior Residence, a Housing and Urban
Development project at the Congregation’s Mont Marie
campus in Holyoke. 
HUD was represented by its Regional
Director Taylor Caswell, who spoke about the coordination
and commitment necessary from sponsors like Sisters of St.
Joseph and local officials to be successfully funded under
the HUD’s Section 202 program, noting that it is one of
the most competitive grant programs in the federal
government. “HUD’s senior housing program serves a vital
need by ensuring that low-income seniors have a safe,
decent and affordable place to live,” said Caswell. “The
Sisters of St. Joseph has been an excellent partner in
creating a higher quality of life and improved sense of
community for residents who will live in Mont Marie Senior
Residence.”
Planning for the project began
several years ago when the Congregation saw an urgent need
for affordable housing for seniors in Western
Massachusetts. “For the past 125 years, the Sisters of
St. Joseph of Springfield have responded to God’s call by
meeting the emerging needs of the community,” said Sister
Mary Quinn, President of the Sisters of St. Joseph of
Springfield. “By providing safe and affordable housing to
seniors at Mont Marie Senior Residence, we continue our
mission of service which is at the heart of who we are as
Sisters of St. Joseph.”
The project involved converting the
former Mont Marie Conference Center at 32 Lower
Westfield Road into 49 apartments for persons age 62 and
older. HUD has set the maximum gross income for a single
resident at just under $26,000.
While the
facility is designed for independent living, outside
supportive services will be available to qualifying
seniors. Besides the 540 square-foot apartments, the
facility includes community and exercise rooms, a library,
meditation room and an interior courtyard with gardens,
benches and gazebo.
In
October of 2004, the Congregation received a $6.2 million
capital advance from HUD’s Section 202 Supportive Housing
for the Elderly program to help finance the project, as
well as project-based rental assistance for five years.
The Sisters of Saint Joseph also secured funds from
several other sources to meet the $8.9 million renovation
cost including Affordable Housing Trust, Housing
Innovation and Housing Stabilization funds, City of
Holyoke HOME funds, National Religious Retirement Office
and the Holyoke Gas and Electric Company.
 Applications:
To obtain
more information about the application process,
interested persons should contact Lisa Nawrocki,
Property Manager, at 413-532-9356. Office
hours are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, 9:00 -
3:00.
Applicants must be 62 years of age or older and
meet HUD income requirements. Applications will
be reviewed by Appleton Corporation, the property
management company for this project.
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