Glenville is just a few steps away from having a local senior housing facility.

The city has already acquired land and is ready to donate it to the Glenville Community Boosters, which would be the owner of the new facility.

The

planned 23,000 square-foot building would accommodate eighteen residential units, with a common area that could also be used as a senior citizen center for the community.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has already set aside funding for a loan sufficient to cover all of the $1.8 million project’s cost, according to Ruth Stadheim, who has been consulting with the city and Booster Club about the project.

But borrowing the money, which would be a 30-year loan, carries a 4.25 percent interest rate, resulting in rents from $1,000 to $1,200 a month.

&uot;We want to make the rent affordable, in the $500 to $700 range,&uot; Stadheim said. She is looking for grants and organizing fund-raising so that the loan portion of the project’s finances can be as minimal as possible.

According to a survey of senior citizens in the community conducted by Stadheim last year, 40 percent of the respondents expressed an interest in senior housing located in Glenville.

Stadheim said that many area seniors are unwilling to move out of the community for senior care that is currently not available in Glenville, and often remain in their homes alone after their spouse has passed on.

Census 2000 data shows that of 720 residents in Glenville, 196 are over 55. And of 71 one-person households, 25 are seniors over 65.

A number of the potential candidates live in a residence that can be marketed at $50,000 to $80,000, according to Stadheim. She anticipates the senior housing projects would consequently increase the supply of affordable housings that younger families can purchase and move in to.

Stadheim thinks providing affordable housing is crucial to attract business to Glenville.

Exol, located on the outskirts of town, has been expanding its plant and workforce size, and nearby areas have the potential to become an industrial zone in the near future.