Grand Opening of Garden Greene Apartments Provides 48 New Affordable Homes for Seniors in Lanett, Alabama
Lanett, Ala. – (April 3, 2008) – Alabama Council on Human Relations, Inc. (ACHR), the city of Lanett, Bennett and Company, and Enterprise Community Investment, Inc. (Enterprise) today celebrated the grand opening of Garden Greene Apartments, 48 newly constructed affordable homes for seniors earning 50 percent or less of area median income in Lanett, Alabama. Garden Greene Apartments is located at 501 South 8th Street and features two two-story buildings and a clubhouse on six acres of land. The $6 million development is located near senior centers, hospitals, retail, transportation and other community services.
“Enterprise is proud to partner with Alabama Council on Human Relations, the Alabama Housing Finance Authority, Bennett and Company and the city of Lanett to provide equity investment and financing to support brand new affordable homes for local seniors,” said Charles R. Werhane, vice chairman and chief operating officer, Enterprise Community Investment, Inc. “Enterprise is committed to ensuring that seniors can live in decent, affordable homes in the communities they love, where they have spent most of their lives and raised their families.”
Enterprise Community Investment, Inc. provided a $4.2 million low-income housing tax credit equity investment in Garden Greene Apartments. In addition, the project received more than $1.3 million in HOME funds from the Alabama Finance Housing Authority. Construction and permanent financing was provided by Auburn Bank. In Alabama, Enterprise has financed more than $52 million to rehabilitate or develop nearly 600 units of affordable housing.
“The Garden Greene Project is a tremendous boost to the city of Lanett,” said Mayor Oscar Crawley. “While providing new affordable housing to seniors is a great asset to the city, it is so much more than that because the development has given new life to a neighborhood that had been deteriorating for years. The city of Lanett donated the land to make this project happen and that act has now brought great returns to the city. We are thankful that Fred Bennett stayed the course to complete this grand addition to the city, which continues to honor the name of long-time educator John Tom Greene and the Greene family.”
Garden Greene’s 48 units offer 20 one-bedroom and 28 two-bedroom apartments with up to 1,060 square feet of living space. Amenities include a clubhouse with a vaulted ceiling, a full kitchen, TV/reading room, community laundry, computer center and an on-site management office.
The building’s exterior features a community garden area, a gazebo and a picnic area with grills. All apartments have electric ranges, washer and dryer hook-ups, microwaves and carpeting. In addition, each apartment is equipped with emergency pull cords in bedrooms and bathrooms that ring to a system of flashing lights and horns on the outside of the units to alert community members. Garden Greene Apartments also features enhanced exterior lighting and video cameras at entries activated by motion detectors for lighting.
“Garden Greene was a ‘win-win’ for the city and the neighborhood,” said Fred Bennett, president, Bennett and Company. “This was the site of the former Greene Elementary School built in the 1950s. The school had been closed for years and heavily vandalized. The community was in need of better housing for lower income seniors, and this neighborhood was particularly supportive on the housing. In all, we’ve never worked in a community that was more involved and supportive than Lanett has been in the development of this facility.”
As the general partner of six affordable housing communities, ACHR Housing Corporation is a major sponsor of affordable housing in several Alabama communities. ACHR Housing Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Alabama Council on Human Relations, Inc., a multi-purpose community action agency, which has been involved in improving the lives of low income persons in Central Alabama for more than thirty years.
Since 1967, The Bennett Group has developed innovative projects to shelter families, enhance neighborhoods, and meet the objectives of owners and investors in six southern states. Partnering with local non-profits such as Alabama Council on Human Relations, the Bennett Group has utilized its unique expertise, resources and professional relationships to produce more than 2,500 apartments. The company also develops single family subdivisions and commercial properties.
Enterprise Community Investment, Inc. is a leading provider of the development capital and expertise it takes to create decent, affordable homes and rebuild communities. Enterprise leverages low-income housing, new markets and historic rehabilitation tax credits, short and long-term debt, and development services to capitalize projects that make a catalytic difference in communities. Enterprise has privately raised over $9 billion to finance more than 240,000 affordable rental and for-sale homes, create vital communities and help transform the lives of low-income Americans, particularly those at the lowest end of the economic scale. Currently, Enterprise is investing in communities at a rate of $1 billion a year. Visit www.enterprisecommunity.com to learn more about Enterprise's efforts to build communities and opportunity.
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Terri Bolling
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