PHOENIX — City leaders held a grand opening Wednesday for a first-of-its-kind housing project near 28th Street and Van Buren that converts storage units into apartments for qualifying seniors.
The first phase of the Senior Bridge project features 40 units equipped with ADA-accessible bathrooms, in-unit microwaves, and refrigerators. The use of storage units allowed for a quick construction process, and overhead solar panels will keep residents from paying utility bills.
Residents will also have access to support services from Mercy House, a non-profit dedicated to ending homelessness.
Glenn Rains, an 80-year-old Vietnam veteran and one of the first residents, gave me a short tour of his new apartment. Rains lost his job doing real estate appraisals, which led to his house being foreclosed on. He lived on the street for the better part of a month until a valley-based homeless service put him on a path to the new facility.
"It was great, I never thought I'd see anything like this, from living on the street and now this," Rains said.
Vice Mayor Kesha Hodge Washington said she has touted the project to other cities around the country.
"I've had the opportunity to write and speak about this project on a national front, I've spoken to some of my colleagues in Atlanta and California, excited on how they can model this," Washington said.
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The space aims to springboard Rains to a better tomorrow.
"I couldn't believe it. Like I said, it's all brand new, it's great, it's perfect," Rains said.
By the end of this year, the second phase of the project is set to be completed. It will include 750 square feet of storage units converted for multi-family apartments.
For more on Senior Bridges, click here.
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