Foresight and Innovation Produce Senior Housing in Utah

Evolving from a much earlier land acquisition by Orem, Utah, underutilized housing sites and vacant land have been transformed into 16 attractive and much-needed homes for low-income senior citizens.

The land was acquired years ago when an area of Orem was in transition from residential to commercial use. The Housing Authority of Utah County, recognizing that Orem had few senior housing facilities, proposed the concept to the city of combining a number of individual lots occupied by old homes and adjacent vacant land into one site where the project could be built. Today, with the help of HUD, Utah State and local government partners, the site has been transformed into Carillon Senior Housing - 16 attractive and much-needed homes for low-income senior citizens.

Four old homes were made available to the county housing authority through this acquisition. The old homes had been rented to low-income families, but consolidating the individual lots provided sufficient land to quadruple the impact for low-income seniors.

The housing authority obtained City approval after hearings were held on new zoning needed to accommodate the project. The changes were adopted, and local residents were included in the design concept to garner their support for the project. Partners that stepped forward to support this project included the Utah Housing Finance Agency, which provided $558,000 in tax credits; and the Utah County Home Consortium, which provided $260,000. Orem City directed $49,000 in HUD Home funds to the project, and the Housing Authority agreed to manage this new senior citizen housing.

One of the 16 new homes in the Carillon Senior Housing development in Orem, Utah.	Geanne Daughters, a resident of the new Carillon Senior Housing development, in front of her new home.