Visits to grandma inspired facility in Sebastian

BY JANET BEGLEY Correspondent

Tuesday, December 4, 2007 - As a young girl growing up in Brooklyn, Ma Java Bhagavati would travel to the Bronx to visit her grandmother, who resided in an assisted- living facility.

The horrendous conditions she uncovered would lay the foundation for a project called By the River, a 41-unit affordable housing complex for senior citizens that broke ground in Sebastian Tuesday.

The facility will provide long-term care for low-income seniors and will have specific numbers of units allocated to residents whose income is 30 percent, 50 percent and 80 percent of the county's median income.

Affordable housing for senior citizens is just one part of the expansion at Kashi Ashram. Individual lots were subdivided during Phase 1 of the project, and purchased by investors looking to build homes on the property. Phase 2 includes four buildings that will each house 10 senior citizens and one staff member.

Each building will have its own kitchen and there will be community meals — with residents taking a turn assisting with meal preparation. The homes will be staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The $6.5 million project is partially funded by Indian River County and the Department of Elder Affairs for the State of Florida, which is using the development as a demonstration project for senior-citizen housing throughout the state.

"The eyes of Florida, as well as the nation, are upon you," Sebastian Mayor Andrea Coy told Kashi officials. "The City of Sebastian is fortunate to have such a compassionate neighbor." A number of community partnerships, including ones with the Visiting Nurse Association, the Hospice Foundation and the Senior Resource Association, will help provide services such as counseling and transportation to residents, according to Senior Resource Association CEO Karen Deigl.

Vero Beach resident Virginia Pecco, 75, was the first senior citizen to place her name on the waiting list for the development, which is slated to open next fall. Her son Tom Pecco accompanied her to the groundbreaking and said he was delighted the project was finally off the ground.

"She's very excited about coming to live here," he said. "It's so much closer for my family to come and visit because we both live in Sebastian. Senior citizens need to be taken care of and now it's our turn to look after them. This is a really good thing."

- Senator Mike Haridopolis speaks in front of Board members of By the River.

- The ground is offically broken for By the River.