HUMBOLDT — New senior housing at the north edge of Humboldt provides a carefree lifestyle, Paula Rhian said during a grand opening Thursday afternoon.
“Sometimes we have people move into our senior housing and a month later they look 10 years younger,” said Rhian, a development director with Excel Corporation, Lincoln, Neb.
Excel built the 12 housing units — in six duplexes — in a public-private financial partnership that involved Humboldt, several private financial institutions and the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation, which arranged tax advantages for financial partners. Project cost was $2.4 million.
Bob and Bonnie Coldwell were the first to move into the housing — two others units now are occupied — can testify to the benefits of living in the new complex.
When a couple of inches of snow fell in February, Bob said he was surprised early that morning to hear the blade of snow shovel scraping the sidewalk in front of the Coldwells’ new home.
“A guy was out there early cleaning off our sidewalk,” he said, making it easy for the Coldwells to get out and about.
A part of the housing agreement also provides lawn care, leaving tenants nothing more to do than spruce up their dwellings.
The senior housing was attractive for Bob, 85, and Bonnie, 79, from the day construction started.
“We watched the groundbreaking, watched them pour concrete and watched the houses being built,” said Bonnie. “They were still working on the houses when we moved in on Dec. 1.”
They signed their rental agreement in the morning, ate lunch and “came back out here and started cleaning so we could move in,” she said.
The Coldwells had lived on South Eighth Street since 1960, which naturally led to some remorse about moving. “We miss our old neighbors,” Bonnie said, “but we love it here.”
What’s not to love?
Their new home has more than 1,000 square feet distributed among two bedrooms, a combination living and dining area and spacious kitchen with more than adequate storage, and a large handicap-accessible bathroom with walk-in shower.
The dwelling came with washer and dryer, microwave, cook stove and refrigerator.
The only obstacle they had was winning over their granddaughter, Agnel Keidel, who preferred going to her grandparents’ old home. But, when she got to take the first shower in the new place and the second bedroom was deemed hers, Angel, 9, who stays over at least once a week, was as sold as the Coldwells.
