The demand for affordable housing for older adults is constantly growing. The St. Louis Jewish community long ago recognized that need and has provided a variety of options. They include Covenant Place, which had a multi-purpose celebration on Wednesday April 2. More than 150 volunteers, donors and St. Louis County dignitaries gathered to commemorate 50 years serving the community, and a significant construction milestone.
“This is a celebration of the completion of the Covenant Place III JCA Building and Harvey and Wilma Gerstein Social Hall,” said Joan Denison, president and CEO. “This was a three-phase development of the properties that were built in the 1970s. We’ve either rebuilt or renovated all three of our original properties.”
Denison told the audience the project started with research to understand the needs of older adults today. She said many people are living longer and wish to stay independent.
“With your involvement, we have created a total of 358 accessible apartments,” Denison said. “They are light-filled, beautiful, designed for older adults to age in place. Residents can easily ambulate from building to building, connect services, resources, and meet up with friends who live in other buildings.”
The first Covenant Place (formerly known as Covenant House) was supported by a collective consisting of the JCA, Jewish Federation, B’nai B’rith and Jewish Community Center.
State and federal low-income housing tax credits were used as a funding source for all three building projects, according to Richard Alport, board chair.
“The Covenant Place board determined that to continue to provide dignified, affordable senior housing and meet the needs of a rapidly growing senior demographic, we had to address the original buildings, which had not aged as well as some of the residents,” Alport said.
Harvey Gerstein, Covenant Place founder, his wife Wilma and their family members were on hand for a ribbon cutting to officially open the social hall that bears their name.
