Sellersville apartments open for low-income seniors struggling to stay put in Bucks County

Louis and Jane Pinto no longer needed the big house in Perkasie but couldn't afford ― let alone find ― an apartment in Bucks County.

The couple, both 78, believed they would need to leave Bucks to find an affordable apartment and, as a result, live further away from their daughter and five grandchildren.

"People of our generation don't talk about it, but they are struggling," said Louis Pinto, a retired insurance agent. "You can sense it when they talk about the price of everything from gas to food to energy. We aren't making more money and the price of everything is going up."

On Friday, the couple planned to move in to the Sellersville Senior Residences, a government-subsidized affordable apartment complex constructed after seven years of work from seven financial backers. Ribbon-cutting ceremonies for the 50-unit complex were held Tuesday in the borough.

The nonprofit Grace Inspired Ministries drove the project, securing funds from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Administration, Bucks County government, Bucks County Housing Authority, Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh among other groups.

Assistance from public sources included a $11.6 million federal low income housing tax credit, a $2.6 million PHFA low-interest mortgage, $846,000 in reinvestment capital from Bucks County, $405,000 from the FHLB, and $119,000 from the Bucks County Housing Authority.

Of the 50 apartments, eight will be set aside for those with behavioral health issues and who have section eight vouchers. Twenty three units were leased as of Tuesday, and the complex should be completely occupied by next month, developers said.

Rents will be determined by income and limited to seniors ages 55 and older and earning between 20% and 60% of the median family income for the region. For example, a single person with an income of just $14,670 per year would pay just $328 per month. A couple earning $42,200 annually would pay $790 for a one-bedroom unit or $946 for a two-bed room apartment, under the terms released this week.

"Sellersville Senior Residences will bring much-needed affordable housing to an area with a rising cost of living and very limited supply of high quality, cost-effective rental housing for seniors," said Dan McKee, president of Grace Inspired Ministries.

Affordable housing was one of the greatest community needs identified in a survey released earlier this year by the Bucks County Opportunity Council, the county's leading anti-poverty agency. 

Almost half of renters in Bucks County are spending more than 30% of their income on rent, creating what advocates call a "housing cost burden." The average rent in Bucks was $1,257 a month, according to the 2019 U.S. Census American Community Survey — and that was before the pandemic caused prices to skyrocket.

Seniors are not immune to financial challenges in housing.

One in five seniors who owned a home spent 30% or more of their annual income on the property, according to the 2020 U.S. Census. Among seniors who rented an apartment, half were spending 30% or more of their income on rent, according to census estimates.

The average Bucks County resident age 60 and older receives about $23,503 in Social Security income.

At the same time, developers have struggled to construct affordable housing in Bucks County and have met resistance even for projects involving senior citizens.

Bensalem spent years developing an affordable housing center for seniors who also served in the U.S. military, and even that project met some resistance from neighbors who said the apartment building was not a good match for the surrounding neighborhood of single-family homes.

More federal and state money is needed to entice developers to construct affordable housing in Bucks County, said Robin Weismann, president and CEO of the PHFA. Weismann attended Tuesday's ribbon cutting and implored those in attendance to keep developing projects.

"We simply need more developments like this," said Weismann. "I would just build them, if I were king of the world. I need to encourage all of you, in whatever roles you play, to find more, and cajole more, and do more."

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To be successful, developers must have community support and appropriate zoning for multi-family housing in a community.

For projects to work, developers also need to find cheap land, said Jeff Fields, director of community and housing development for Bucks County. "Rental prices and housing prices continue to rise at a rapid pace, and that makes the need for affordable housing like this for seniors on fixed incomes even more important."

The Sellersville Senior Apartments were built on a former industrial site known to have underground storage tanks that would require cleanup. (Two tanks were suspected on the site. A third was discovered during the cleanup process.)

Seniors living on fixed incomes are truly struggling to keep pace with inflation, said Louis Pinto. He was delighted to move into his new apartment but dismayed by the number of available apartments for low-income seniors.

"We're the people who are truly hurting at this time," said Pinto. "It's sad that they don't have 2,000 units here for seniors who need them."