SILVER SAGE NEWS RELEASE
Reno non-profit Silver Sage Manor, Inc. will host a grand opening Thursday at 3:00 p.m. for its newly completed residence, Moran Street Apartments. The eight-unit apartment building in the West of Wells neighborhood in Reno will serve very low-income and formerly homeless seniors.
The grand opening will take place at the project site, 435 Moran St., near Wells Avenue. Taking part in the ceremony will be Reno Mayor Robert A. Cashell, Sr. and city councilman from the 3rd Ward Oscar Delgado, as well as representatives from Silver Sage Manor, Inc. and members of the West of Wells neighborhood organization.
Moran Street Apartments is the product of an extraordinary partnership between the city of Reno and Silver Sage Manor to rehabilitate a fire-damaged and blighted apartment building that had sat vacant for over 10 years. Using federal stimulus funds, the city and Silver Sage Manor were able to purchase this nuisance property, gut it to the bare exterior block walls and rebuild it into eight highly energy efficient and attractive one-bedroom apartments containing full kitchens and washers and dryers.
The goal of the project is to assist very low income and formerly homeless seniors, age 55 and above, to age in place and remain financially and physically self-sufficient. Residents of Moran Street will have easy access to neighborhood services such as public transit, the nearby Renown Medical Center, Stewart Park, and the Midtown and Wells Avenue businesses. Silver Sage Manor will employ a resident services coordinator who will further assist residents with settling and accessing services in the community, such as nutrition and wellness programs, volunteer support, and applications for supportive services and entitlements.
The Moran Street development contributes to the extensive revitalization already taking place in the Wells Avenue Neighborhood Conservation District. This historic district has experienced a boom of community support and activity ranging from new businesses to neighborhood clean-ups of graffiti and trash.
Notes Dagny Stapleton, Reno Planning Commissioner and Co-Founder of the West of Wells neighborhood organization, “435 Moran Street was the most blighted property in the West of Wells neighborhood for over ten years. There were always problems with vagrants and graffiti. [Moran Street] was inevitably brought up at almost every neighborhood meeting. The fact that this property has been not only been cleaned up but also totally rehabbed is fantastic! Thank you!”
The developer, Silver Sage Manor, Inc., is a 22-year-old local non-profit whose mission is to “serve the needs of seniors by developing high-quality, affordable housing” that enables seniors to “live with safety and dignity.” Its work, which stemmed from discussions at the Men’s Breakfast at the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, has resulted in the creation of 799 affordable rental units in 16 developments across Nevada.
The City of Reno Community Development staff initiated the project by targeting the West of Wells neighborhood for funding under the NSP3 program. The city was instrumental in carrying out the initial discovery work on and purchasing the vacant Moran Street property and in assisting Silver Sage Manor with project planning and the entitlement and building permit process.
Funding for Moran Street Apartments comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP3) funds, City of Reno Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds and Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco Affordable Housing Program (AHP) funds, through Charles Schwab Bank.
