- South Jordan plans a new senior center with 200 affordable housing units.
- Mayor Dawn Ramsey emphasizes the importance of supporting the senior population.
- The project, funded by redevelopment money, will begin construction next year.
SOUTH JORDAN — Senior lunch at the South Jordan Community Center is usually filled with laughter, food and friendship.
For Linda Alldredge and her husband, the community center has become a second home.
"This is like a big family that we have here," Alldredge said. "Shane and I first came to this not because we needed the $4 meal. It was because we wanted to find new people like us."
Now, every Wednesday, they meet friends, play bingo and share stories.
But like many seniors living on fixed incomes, Alldredge worries about what happens as housing prices keep rising.
It's not something she thought about much in her younger days.
"Retirement was like, you know, 80 years away," she said with a laugh. "And now, if we don't have affordable housing, we're going to have to shack up with each other."
That's why Wednesday's announcement from South Jordan Mayor Dawn Ramsey meant a lot to the people who gathered for lunch.
The city plans to build a new senior center with about 200 affordable housing units within the new building.
The homes, meant for seniors, are expected to be available to rent from between $1,400 and $1,800 per month. They'll be located in "The District," between the JCPenney store and nearby townhomes, on a currently empty parking lot.
Even though a lot of discussions about affordable housing focus on younger families just starting out, Ramsey felt it was important to consider those who have already raised their families.
"There's a lot of data out there that tells us there are more people currently aging into the senior category than very young people growing up, with the birth rates dropping," Ramsey said. "We can't forget our senior population. And we need to make sure that as they move on and progress through life, and their circumstances change, that we provide nice, safe, beautiful and affordable housing options for them too."
Ramsey said the project won't use general fund tax dollars.
Instead, it's being funded through redevelopment money the city has saved from previous projects.
"We have been saving this to try to get a project like this that's so meaningful for our community," she said. "We need to make sure that we're doing what we should for them."
That's really awesome that they would even think of us. The senior citizen is often left behind once they stop their earning years
–Linda Alldredge
For Alldredge, the announcement came with a lot of clapping and cheering.
"I think that's really awesome that they would even think of us," she said. "The senior citizen is often left behind once they stop their earning years."
Construction on the project is expected to begin next year.
When it's finished, Alldredge hopes her "big family" will grow even bigger.
"I wish all of my friends could come here when they get to be 39. I mean, 40," she joked. "OK, 49."
Correction: An earlier version incorrectly reported that the housing units would be available to buy; the units will only be available to rent.
