BATON ROUGE, La — Over the last twenty-seven years, Urban Restoration Enhancement Corporation has made significant progress in advancing community development initiatives that serve the North Baton Rouge community. The recent completion of the Urban Garden Senior Village reinforces UREC's commitment to make affordable housing a reality for grandparents raising grandchildren, older adults and families with low to moderate incomes.
UREC is pleased to announce that each newly developed multi-family home at Urban Garden Senior Village is fully occupied, realizing the fulfillment of approximately $1 million in investments in North Baton Rouge.
The purpose and power of Urban Garden Senior Village are most evident among residents like Levette Philson who inherited a new home and a welcoming community upon moving into the neighborhood. Approximately one year ago, Mrs. Philson and her family were living in a home on a lease-purchase agreement, but unexpectedly found themselves evicted and homeless for circumstances beyond their knowledge and control. Devastated by the loss, Mrs. Philson, her husband and their 13-year-old granddaughter whom they've raised since infancy, packed their three-bedroom homed, moved out and lived apart for the first time in their lives.
During this time, Mrs. Philson learned about Urban Garden Senior Village, submitted an application for housing and was among the community's first residents. Mrs. Philson said,"As far as this community, the Senior Village community, there's not a lot of places out there for older people. We like to be amongst our own. It's so awesome to have a place just for us."
UREC President & CEO Carl Dillon said,"The Senior Village at Urban Garden is one initiative that demonstrates UREC's mission in action. We are grateful to our community partners and development team for committing to reinvest in North Baton Rouge as we work to build today's communities for tomorrow."
UREC developed Urban Garden Senior Village to add new, affordable housing to the Urban Garden neighborhood, which UREC previously built and developed at the site of the old Hollywood Elementary School. The redeveloped area provides the first newly constructed homes built in the area in more than 50 years. The success and completion of Urban Garden Senior Village was made possible through support and partnerships with the City of Baton Rouge, Louisiana Housing Corporation, Huey & Angelina Wilson Foundation and NewCorp Inc.
In addition, UREC has two similar development projects on the horizon for low to moderate income families in North Baton Rouge. To learn more, connect with UREC via Facebook and Instagram.