Construction is to start this fall on a $10 million subsidized housing complex for seniors on Spokanes North Side.


The 50-unit complex, to be called Lilac Terrace, will be part of the Lilac Plaza Retirement Community, located at 7007 N. Wiscomb, says Chris Venne, development finance manager at Spokane-based Community Frameworks, which is developing the project. Spokane Baptist Association Homes owns that 13-story, 175-unit Lilac Plaza complex and will own Lilac Terrace as well, Venne says.


Along with the 50 units, Lilac Terrace will include a community room, a small library, an exercise room, computer rooms, and a beauty salon, he says.


Lilac Terrace will be located on the northern half of the 4-acre Lilac Plaza site, on land that is vacant, and will be connected to the older structure via a covered walkway. Lilac Terrace residents will have access to the Lilac Plaza dining room.


Work on the four-story, roughly 46,000-square-foot Lilac Terrace building likely will begin in September and be completed within a year, Venne says. Zeck Butler Architects PS, of Spokane, designed the project, and Community Frameworks plans to select a contractor in mid-June, he says.


Most of the living units in Lilac Terrace will have one bedroom and a total of 540 square feet of floor space, Venne says. Forty of the units will be designated for residents who earn less than 50 percent of the Spokane areas median income for one-person households, which means less than $20,150 per year, he says. Those residents would pay 30 percent of their annual income to rent the units, and the federal government would pay the balance. The rent for the remaining 10 units, which also will be subsidized, will be slightly more, but their income restrictions wont be as narrow, he says. Eight of those units will have two bedrooms.


Residents will have to be at least 62 years old to live there, he says.


The goal of the project is to provide quality housing for the low- and very low-income folks who wouldnt be able to afford good housing any other way, Venne says. Theres a big unmet need in our community for affordable senior housing.


Spokane Baptist Association Homes is paying for the project with a mix of federal, state, and local funds, Venne says.


Contact Emily Proffitt at (509) 344-1265 or via e-mail at emilyp@spokanejournal.com.