Developers hope to complete Foster Senior Lofts in spring

ELYRIA — The site of the Thomas Jefferson School is now completely changed, as a new apartment building has risen on the north end of the property that once held the school. The Foster Senior Lofts development appears to have an almost complete exterior, and developers hope to complete the 46-unit senior housing apartment in May. The demolition of the school was completed last summer. Housing will be available only to individuals who are 55 or older, and the project was put together through a partnership between Pivotal Housing Partners, the Elyria Community Partnership, Grow America and the city. Elyria Community Partnership, or ECP, is a nonprofit that promotes development and investment in the city and Grow America is a nonprofit development company that provides funding for a variety of project types, including housing. ECP operates out of the The Chronicle headquarters on East Avenue. "For me to drive by and see the apartments there and the school is now gone, where when we started the demolition it was only some elevator shafts...It is coming along really well," Elyria Community Partnership Executive Director Mone't Roberts said Monday. "I think it is a sign of hope, because there is a lot of progress around housing coming to Elyria, and it feels good to have kind of initiated some of that legwork. I think it was one of the first major projects in the area, so we are looking forward to housing redevelopment throughout the city." Roberts and ECP Board Chairman Mike Griffin were crucial in bringing the many partners together on the project, in part because Griffin is also the executive managing director of affordable housing for Grow America. Roberts said that she, Griffin and others visited a number of Pivotal properties, both recent construction and older housing, and interviewed residents before landing on Pivotal as the right partner and property manager. "When we first started going through this project we did intensive research with Pivotal Housing Partners, exploring other projects they have done, both old and new," Roberts said. "We talked with residents, toured the facilities and we were extremely pleased with the maintenance, the upkeep … and the residents were extremely pleased with their homes." The city agreed to provide funding to the project in part to promote more affordable housing, but also because the plan included the demolition of the former Thomas Jefferson School. After sitting empty for years, the school had become a blight on the neighborhood and source of myriad complaints to the city, Mayor Kevin Brubaker has said. To provide funding, Elyria required that the demolition of the school be carried out at the same time as the construction of the apartment, and per that agreement Ruscilli Construction, of Dublin, finished demolishing Thomas Jefferson in the summer. The school was on the south end of the property, abutting Foster Avenue, and construction on the apartment building at the north end, off of Bond Street, has picked up since the demolition was completed. Roberts said that when plans for the project were first announced ECP received pushback from some residents, but she said she felt that the removal of the school and residents learning more about the project has shifted public perception. "I know there was a little bit of a 'not in my backyard' approach initially — which is natural, that happens in any community — but we have seen such a surge of excitement since then," she said. "I think the community is excited. I think this is a great opportunity for residents to age gracefully in homes they can afford and cherish, and where they can have a community. Like, I would love my grandmother to move in there." Roberts said that the project has received eight vouchers from Raise Up, formerly known as the Lorain Metropolitan Housing Authority, to provide rental assistance to lower income residents. "This is really an opportunity to have mixed housing, which I think is so key," Roberts said. "When you think of building quality living, if you can showcase to someone that does have lower income that they can live next door to someone who isn't (lower income). Show them you are no different, you are not separated, it is a great opportunity." The wait list to apply for housing in Foster Senior Lofts has not yet opened, but individuals can sign up to a newsletter for the project for updates, and to be alerted when the list opens. The newsletter can be found at www.pivotal-communities.com/properties/foster-senior-lofts. Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.