FARRELL Agency proposes apartments for the severely mentally ill

The agency already has an option on the land and most of the finances lined up.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
FARRELL, Pa. -- The Mercer County Community Action Agency wants to build a 10-unit apartment complex in the city to provide apartments for people suffering from severe mental illness.
The agency will present its plans for Independence Park Inc. at Tuesday's Farrell Planning Commission meeting at 4:30 p.m. in city hall.
Gary Cervone, agency vice president of administration and chief financial officer, said the plan is to build the 10 units in two buildings on a plot of land now owned by the city on the East side of Hamilton Avenue between Union and Federal streets.
The project calls for six, one-bedroom units and four, two-bedroom units, he said.
Option to purchase: LaVon Saternow, city manager, said city council has already granted the agency an option to purchase the land, which once served as the municipal ash and salt storage pile for winter street maintenance.
The city has cleaned the lot and it is ready for construction, she said.
The agency had approached the city initially about building the complex in the former Farrell City Park along Sharon-New Castle Road, but council has tried to reserve land there for more commercial developments, Saternow said.
The agency asked for suggestions for other possible locations and the city suggested the vacant lot now targeted for the project, she said.
Finances: The U.S. Department of Housing & amp; Urban Development has approved a $714,700 grant covering the bulk of the project's cost, Cervone said.
The agency has also secured $45,300 from the Federal Home Loan Bank and is seeking a $42,000 grant from the state's Brownfields Initiative to complete the financing, he said.
The goal is to have all financial agreements signed and the property acquired by late spring, with construction beginning immediately thereafter, Cervone said.
The apartments should be ready for occupancy by the end of the year, he added.
This will be the first housing for mental illness clients built by the agency in Farrell.
It does have other units in Sharon and Greenville, but most of those are individual houses that were purchased and converted into efficiency apartments, Cervone said.