‘A PERMANENT RESIDENCE’
Veterans housing project launched in Hobart, to include 75 apartments
With carpenters framing walls in the background, officials came together on a sultry Thursday morning to salute low-income military veterans by offering permanent housing at a site in the heart of Hobart’s business hub.
They wielded ceremonial shovels, although foundation work had begun earlier, for the Rauner Family Veteran Apartments, established by A Safe Haven Foundation, of Oak Forest, Illinois.
The Hobart City Council approved the $11 million project, which will include 75 efficiency apartments on donated property in the Silverstone subdivision off Mississippi Street, just north of U.S. 30. It’s expected to open next spring.
The new 3-story development is directly north of a rear service road to Best Buy. The road served as the entryway for attendees at the groundbreaking because access wasn’t available yet through Silverstone.
The project received backing from former Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner and his wife Diane’s foundation, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the U.S. Veterans Administration. The Rauner Foundation provided $1 million to A Safe Haven, nonprofit foundation established in 1994.
Veterans seeking housing will be screened and referred by the Adam Benjamin Jr. Veterans Outpatient Clinic in Crown Point. The HUD Veterans Supportive Housing program offer housing vouchers to homeless veterans and case management and clinical services are provided by the Veterans Affairs.
The project received $20 million in HUD/VA rental housing tax credits, bond volume and other financing through the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority. HUD has already approved the vouchers.
The apartment complex will include a meeting space and community room, an exercise room, laundry room, bike storage and an outside patio courtyard. The U.S. flag and flags from all military branches will be displayed.
Brian Rowland, the cofounder of A Safe Haven with his wife, Neli Vazquez
Rowland, said the walkway to the main entrance will feature a Bronze Star monument to his father, Michael J. Rowland, 92, a Korean War veteran.
Rowland told the groundbreaking audience his father, an Irish immigrant, suffers from memory loss and lives in a residential care facility.
“He’s not doing well now and we hope to bring him home soon,” he said.
“I’m proud of this project. I was one of those veterans who needed help,” said Rowland. “I was able to get the resources to turn my life around.”
Mayor Brian Snedecor called the project “a team effort,” singling out city councilmen John Brezik and Mark Kopil and former council member Jerry Herzog.
“There was just a tree line here and to look at it today, it’s just amazing,” said Snedecor.
Gary veteran Victor Baker, who retired from the Marines after serving in Vietnam, said the furnished apartments have been sorely needed in Northwest Indiana. He said he’ll assist in screening residents.
“Now, veterans can have a permanent residence all their days on Earth,” said Baker, a service officer with the Amvets Indiana Service Foundation.