Officials Celebrate Grand Opening of Apartment Building for Seniors in Silver Spring (VIDEO & PHOTOS)
Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett along with federal, state, and local housing officials held a grand opening ribbon cutting ceremony for a newly developed mixed income senior apartment building located in Downtown Silver Spring called The Bonifant on Wednesday.
The 11-story building features 149 units for seniors aged 62 and older, with 6,300 square feet of retail space. According to a news release, the project cost $44 million as a public private partnership between Montgomery Housing Partnership (MHP) and The Donohoe Companies.
“The Bonifant is part of a broader initiative to create more affordable housing for seniors as we continue to make Montgomery County a community for a lifetime,” Leggett said. “These apartments are located in the revitalized Silver Spring downtown district adjacent to the new Silver Spring library,” he said.
Officials also said that The Bonifant was designed for active seniors and is located within walking distance of Metrorail, Ride On, the future Purple Line stations, grocery store, shops and theaters.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development provided a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan of approximately $15 million for the construction of the building.
Montgomery County owns the land at the building location and MHP is the co-developer and long-term owner of the mixed-use property and holds a 77 year lease. All but 10 of the 149 units are available for reduced rent for those aged 62 or older with incomes less than 60 percent of the area median income.
The building is smoke-free and features 10 studio apartments, 119 one bedrooms units, 20 two bedrooms units, a community room, cyber cafe, and fitness center.
Leggett was joined by Montgomery County Council President Nancy Floreen, President of MHP Peter Gartlan, President of Donohoe Development Kenneth Hold, Secretary of Maryland Housing and Community Development Marvin Turner, D.C. Director of Natioanl Capitol Area Office,U.S. Housing and Urban Development Paul Weech, President of NeighborWorks America and David Bowers, Vice President of Enterprise Community Partners.
800 people have expressed interested in renting units since the project started in June 2014 and most unites are now rented, officials said.
Ribbon-cutting for The Bonifant, bringing 149 below market rent senior apartments to downtown Silver Spring. pic.twitter.com/mUjUHJuTxL
— George Leventhal (@georgeleventhal) July 13, 2016
The Bonifant is officially open for business! https://t.co/cEIdhTx2gT pic.twitter.com/0qWmD1mnau
— Montgomery County MD (@MontgomeryCoMD) July 13, 2016
Getting ready for the 11 am celebration and ribbon cutting at The Bonifant in Silver Spring https://t.co/6KUka0MSFa pic.twitter.com/g4AfTqwFbq
— Montgomery County MD (@MontgomeryCoMD) July 13, 2016
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