Because there were a lot more applicants than apartments in the federally subsidized building going up in Elmhurst for senior citizens and handicapped people, the developer and the city held a lottery to pick occupants.
”It was like bingo night when a name was called of someone who was there,” said Jacque Gellman, Elmhurst`s coordinator of senior citizen services. ”People were so excited. Some of the women were crying. It was kind of touching.”
The developer, the Bensenville Home Society, got 413 replies to 1,800 applications it sent out. And last week in Elmhurst City Hall names of prospective occupants were drawn, according to Jean Elliott, director of housing for the nonprofit group.
Rent will be based on income. The minimum age for occupants is 62, unless the person is handicapped. Elmhurst residents will get the first crack at half of the 80 units, according to Mayor Robert J. Quinn.
Quinn drew the first 15 names and then Carl Schmidt, chairman of the Elmhurst Senior Citizens Commission, and his group drew some.
Bensenville Home Society operates similar facilities in Bensenville, called Castle Towers, and Schaumburg, called Greencastle. The new one will be known as Greencastle of Elmhurst.
Interviews of prospective tenants started Monday.
Elliott said occupancy is expected in mid-May or early June.
The seven-story building is north of the city hall on a former municipal parking lot that the city sold to the society for $270,000. The project was undertaken through a $3.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. It is the first Elmhurst senior citizen housing facility.
