Residents living on Sunrise Terrace in the Senior Citizens Associates, Inc housing development in New Carlisle have raised concerns following what they describe as visits to their homes by representatives of Episcopal Retirement Services (ERS).
The New Carlisle News reached out to Dana Schock the President of the nine member board that operates the non-profit senior housing complex in the city. According to Schock, the development is a low income facility for seniors and is part of the Rural Development program which offers low to very low income individuals rent assistance. He noted that some of the residents pay zero dollars per month for their home as part of this program. He was not aware of any door to door visits at the time of our interview.
Recently the non-profit partnered with ERS for the purpose of providing the funding needed to update the 40 plus year old units in the complex which was built back in the 1970s. The projected cost of renovation for the complex is close to $6 million which Schock noted could never been raised by Senior Citizens Associates without a partnership.
According to Schock, the plan is to have a number of units vacant over the next few months which will allow the residents of Sunrise Terrace to move to other units on the complex site while renovations are made to their current homes. He noted that because the renovations are very involved, including bathrooms and kitchen areas, the current residents would be unable to remain in the homes while the work is being completed. He indicated that the open units will be made available when current residents elect to vacate for various reasons over the next few months.
Schock explained that once the renovations are completed, the current residents of Sunrise Terrace would have the first option to return to the newly remodeled unit. The project would continue rotating residents out of current homes and into other units until the entire complex has been remodeled.
Some residents reported that they have been told that they must move out of the complex by the end of December leaving them homeless by Christmas. Schock stated “that is not going to happen”.
Members of the Board of Directors met about a month ago regarding the partnership with ERS according to Schock. He noted that the development is part of the Rural Development program run by the U. S. Government and rent is on a sliding scale for the residents. All of those living in the complex must meet the standards for income set by this program in order to remain in their homes. Schock reported that there is no plan to have the complex open to anyone except seniors who qualify for the program.
The Board met on Tuesday, November 14, 2017, however Schock reported that representatives of ERS would not be in attendance. The Board will be meeting with ERS to discuss issues that have come up recently related to the renovations later this month.
Episcopal Retirement Services was formed in 1951 and is based in Cincinnati. They operate senior living communities in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana managing 25 complexes in the three states.
