Tweet

Share on Thumblr

SALISBURY — Diocesan and North Carolina housing officials broke ground Oct.27 on an affordable senior housing community adjacent to Sacred Heart Church and School in Salisbury.

Bishop Emeritus William G. Curlin blessed the site of Good Shepherd Gardens at 375 Lumen Christi Lane, with more than two dozen Church and housing leaders and laity present. Then following prayers for its successful completion, ceremonial shovels were turned in the dirt to officially kick off the construction phase of this project – the first of its kind for the Diocese of Charlotte.

Good Shepherd Gardens will be an apartment complex for low-income seniors, and is a joint venture between the Diocese of Charlotte Housing Corp. and the N.C. Housing Foundation, funded in part by a $3 million grant last year from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Those present at the groundbreaking ceremony included Monsignor Mauricio West, vicar general and chancellor of the diocese, who is also president of the Diocese of Charlotte Housing Corp.; Salisbury Mayor Susan W. Kluttz; Jerry Widelski, director of the Diocese of Charlotte Housing Corp.; Garry Merritt, president of the N.C. Housing Foundation; Sacred Heart Church's Father John Putnam and Father Benjamin Roberts, and Father James Ebright; and architects and building contractors who are working on the project.

Pictured above: Monsignor Mauricio West, Bishop Emeritus William Curlin, Salisbury Mayor Susan Kluttz, Garry Merritt, Father John Putnam and Jon Sarver (of Sarver Housing Group), turn the dirt for the Diocese of Charlotte's newest senior affordable housing community.

Good Shepherd Gardens will consist of 18 one-bedroom affordable apartment units, 540 square feet each, for individuals who are 62 or older. Rent will be offered on a sliding scale depending on the residents' income levels, and will include water, sewer and trash service. The maximum income limit for individuals is about $21,000, and for a two-person household the maximum income limit is about $24,000.

Bishop Emeritus William Curlin blesses the site of the future Good Shepherd Gardens with holy water on Oct. 27.All units will include Energy Star appliances to promote energy conservation and will be built using environmentally-friendly green building materials that provide a healthier living environment.

There will be a community room, community kitchen, parlor, library, porch, patio, storage units and an elevator, besides laundry rooms on each floor.

Some units will be handicapped accessible, and visiting providers will offer periodic on-site social, health, educational and spiritual activities.

Construction is expected to be completed in September 2012, and the apartments to open in October 2012 to qualified seniors of all races and religions.

Widelski said the 13-acre site adjacent to Sacred Heart Church has room for Good Shepherd Gardens to expand in the future, depending on the economic climate and the availability of funding.

Founded in 2001 by Bishop Emeritus Curlin, the Diocese of Charlotte Housing Corp. was created for the purposes of: creating, maintaining, promoting and operating housing facilities and accompanying services for seniors, individuals and families with low incomes, and other vulnerable populations.

Good Shepherd Gardens is the second project undertaken by the Diocese of Charlotte Housing Corp. The first was Curlin Commons in Mooresville, an affordable housing apartment complex for seniors with low to moderate incomes.

For more information about Good Shepherd Gardens or the Diocese of Charlotte Housing Corp., contact Jerry Widelski at 704-370-3248 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

— Patricia L. Guilfoyle, editor