SENIOR HOUSING Supplement to help with building plan

Warren and Trumbull County are partners in the consortium.
HOWLAND -- Lutheran Social Services is expanding housing opportunities for the elderly with $4.6 million in new construction next to the Shepherd of the Valley facilities on North River Road.
Trumbull County commissioners are expected today to authorize $624,448 to supplement $4 million in U.S. Housing and Urban Development money for the project.
Lutheran Social Services of Central Ohio plans to build a 50-unit affordable-housing facility for the elderly on North River Road. It would be a mix of several buildings, right next to Shepherd of the Valley's already sizable investment in the area.
Working together
The $624,488 is a mixture of federal HUD money already awarded to the city of Warren and Trumbull County, which participate in the Warren-Trumbull HOME Consortium.
Alan Knapp, county planning commission director, said the funding mix is roughly two-thirds from the city and one-third from the county.
Lutheran Social Services expected the project to cost $4 million, but its bids came back at $4.6 million, Knapp said.
Each year, the consortium receives the federal money that it must spend, and it was determined that this project for the elderly would be a good use of the money.
"We don't have $600,000, but us and the city together do have $600,000 that could help them," Knapp said.
No county general fund money is being used on the project.
Shepherd of the Valley
Affiliated with area Lutheran churches, Shepherd of the Valley started in 1972 with the Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Home and Retirement Center in Niles.
The corporation operates a skilled nursing and rehabilitation center, retirement community, assisted-living apartments and Alzheimer's care center in Niles. It also has a skilled nursing and rehab center in Boardman and retirement communities and assisted-living apartments in Poland and Howland. It serves people from all denominations.
The North River Road site has a skilled nursing unit and a heavy-care unit in addition to its assisted-living center and independent-living condominiums.