New Lenox to get second senior apartment complex

NEW LENOX – Verona Sawyer had to wait four years to get an apartment at the Guy A. Sell Senior Housing Center.

The senior housing complex run by New Lenox Township is a popular place, offering seniors an option to stay close to home without the burdens that come with maintaining a house.

Sawyer, 72, has been in the apartment complex for just more than three months now. She wanted to leave her home because it was becoming an expensive hassle. She still owns the house but put it on the market in December. She wants to be done with it.

“Taking it alone is very difficult,” she said. “Between roofing and driveways and every time you turn around or it’s so hot you can’t go outside and mow the lawn yourself.”

Many elderly residents who decide to live at the township’s senior housing facility are like Sawyer. They find themselves on a waiting list for a building that only has 24 rooms – six doubles and 18 singles.

The waiting list is at more than 60 now. But that may go down when a second senior housing facility is built nearby.

The Chicago-based Alden Foundation plans to build a 53-unit independent apartment community for residents aged 62 years or older that will be called the New Lenox Horizon Senior Living Community. The apartment building would be located near the township’s senior housing area on Otto Drive and Cedar Road.

Village officials in February approved the Alden Foundation plan to provide affordable senior housing. Construction could begin in summer 2015.

At the Guy A. Sell Senior Housing Center, the rate for single bedrooms is $717 a month and for double bedrooms $843 a month, which includes the costs of gas, garbage and water. The building has a community room for civic gatherings and through a cooperative agreement with the local park district, it offers senior recreation, exercises and social enrichment programs, according to the township’s website.

The waiting list for the township senior housing complex has been higher than 60 the past four years, said Amy Ringenberg, accounts payable clerk for the township. She said the facility is open to New Lenox Township residents who are 62 years or older and able to live independently.

“It’s a great building and a great location,” Ringenberg said.

Gloria Browne, 79, who’s been living there eight years, said she has several friends who still are on the waiting list. Browne said she chose to live there because she’s been a lifelong resident whose friends and church are nearby.

“I’ve lived here since I was 14,” she said. “It’s hard to get out of here.”

Many of the residents enjoy living in a space that’s not as burdensome as home but still provides a sense of community.

Thelma Rhind, 67, said it can be tough for senior citizens living on their own when houses develop chronic problems that are tough to fix. Many residents do not want to rely on their children who, they say, have their own lives.

“The only thing you don’t want to worry about is the upkeep of your own home, and it’s not that your family won’t take care of you,” Rhind said.

Even with the waiting list, some seniors are not ready or able to move into the township apartments when one is available. Rhind said sometimes people on the top of the list still are trying to sell their homes or have reached a point where they need an assisted-living facility instead. If someone is unable to care for themselves, they have to move out.

“It’s happened here before,” said Warren Rhind, 77, Thelma Rhind’s husband.

While the residents at Guy A. Sell Senior Housing Center need to be independent, they are not alone. And, they get help. That’s one of the attractions.

Browne talked about a time when she was living in her house and a pipe burst in the basement. She called 911 for help because she could not fix it herself. At Guy A. Sell Senior Housing Center, Browne was able to call building maintenance when a lightbulb went out, and she got it fixed.

“It was so nice instead of trying to find a neighbor,” she said.