| Easehouse
was the dream of East Alabama Services for the Elderly
(EASE) back in 1976. This non-profit group was providing
a number of services for older people in Auburn, Alabama—transportations,
adult day care, nutrition programs—but saw a
real need for affordable housing. We worked with them
to secure a HUD Section 202 loan to build this 100-unit
facility, complete with large gathering areas and
craft areas, a beauty shop, laundry, post office and
offices, as well as a central atrium.
Easehouse
was among the first 3 or 4 HUD Section 202 projects
built in Alabama. The design was so well-received—five
floors built around a common well-landscaped atrium,
with all units having either a patio or balcony—that
it has been used in several other locations throughout
the Southeast. It has also been popular with residents,
some of whom have been in residence since 1978,
when the project was completed.
We
have worked with several other non-profit groups
seeking funds under this program for senior housing.
One client, the South East Alabama Self-Help Association
(SEASHA), has come full-cycle with us: we developed
the original 100 units in Tuskegee, Alabama, in
1976, and then assisted them in 2004 to secure housing
tax credits to remodel every unit, enlarge the clubhouse
with a new sun room, and upgrade the site landscaping,
streets and parking.
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