SALISBURTY, N.C. — The Osceola Council on Aging opened Ford City Motor Lofts, which is a senior apartment complex.
The adaptive-reuse development used to be a historic Ford dealership in downtown Salisbury.
U.S. Army veteran Willie Ballard Jr. helps his unhoused neighbors when he’s not working and is getting ready to move into the Ford City Motor Senior Lofts.
“It’s going to be a lot better than what I’m paying now,” said Ballard, a future tenant. “So, I will definitely save and be able to invest into my homeless program.”
“More and more seniors just are not making it,” said Wendy Ford, the CEO at the Osceola Council on Aging. “On their Social Security, most of them are around $1,000 a month.”
Ford said there will be 64 units spread across six buildings on South Main Street.
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There will be 28 apartments in the historic car dealership building with studio apartments starting at $806 a month.
“It’s much more affordable,” Ford said. “Where they could actually eat or live or do things, and in a normal fashion. Otherwise, they can’t make it.”
The remaining 36 units will be partially funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The $19.2 million project received $6 million in HUD grant funding.
Seniors 62 and older will pay 30% of their income toward rent, and HUD will pay the rest.
Ballard said he’s excited to live close to the VA.
“Everybody likes it. It’s clean, new and affordable,” Ballard said. “That’s the most important thing, affordable and safe.”
Tenants must be at least 55 years old to apply to live there.
The complex will allow adults 18 and older to live with those residents. The first tenants are expected to move in on April 1.
The former Ford City Motor Company is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and was deemed worthy of preservation in late 2022.
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