Brownsville gets grant to add apartments for seniors, disabled

HAYWOOD COUNTY, Tenn. — A housing development grant will help add new units for senior citizens and people with disabilities at a Brownsville apartment complex.

The $215,136 grant from the Tennessee Housing Development Agency will help add the units to the Summer Oaks apartment complex, according to a news release from the Tennessee Housing Development Agency.

The Brownsville Housing Authority applied for the grant to help fund the construction of four apartments with special accessibility features including one specifically designed for residents with visual or auditory impairments, according to the release.

Applicants for the new apartments must meet the federal definition of “extremely low income,” meaning they earn less than 30 percent of the area’s median income, and at least one member of the household must be a senior or have a disability, the release states.

“I want to thank THDA for choosing to invest in our community and helping us move this important project forward,” Brownsville Mayor Bill Rawls said. “By expanding Summer Oaks, we’re taking good care of our neighbors who are getting older or who have disabilities.”

Construction of the new units is planned to begin in January 2017 and wrap up by the end of the year.