CLARION, Pa. (EYT) – A $13 million 42 unit senior housing project by Hudson Companies on a long-vacant 1.14-acre lot on a South Fifth Avenue in Clarion Borough took another step forward on Tuesday morning with an announcement by the Clarion County Commissioners that an environmental review for Regency Commons is being conducted.

The Clarion Housing Authority and Hudson Property Management will co-manage Regency Commons, and the environmental review requirement is related to financing from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA).

The project is expected to break ground later this year.

Regency Commons is affordable housing and will serve seniors 62+ with restricted rents whose incomes are below the area median income. It is a low-income tax credit program through the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency. It is not HUD Section 8 Housing.

There will be six fully handicapped-accessible units.

Many feel there is a need for subsidized senior housing in the Clarion area.

“There is a significant need in our community for quality affordable housing for people of all ages, this development will help to address the needs of seniors; it is our hope that other developers will step up to improve the existing housing inventory or build new residential complexes for working adults and families,” said Dan Parker, president of Clarion Blueprint Communities, in a letter of support.

The building is being designed and certified under the National Green Building Standard, silver level.

Hudson Companies is a family-owned business specializing in commercial construction, real estate development, acquisition, and land development.  Since it was founded in 1977, Hudson has built, developed, and acquired over $500 million of real estate.