Housing complex called a relief for area seniors

Sito Negron

Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2004 | 8:35 a.m.

As dignitaries spoke of the big issues of affordable housing during the Tuesday morning ribbon-cutting at the Harry Reid Senior Community, Donald Fetchik, who said he was the second resident to move into the sparkling new building, spoke of a more basic issue.

"I couldn't get my wheelchair inside the place I lived before," said Fetchik, 61, a military veteran who recently lost his left foot to gangrene.

Fetchik lives in one of 36 apartments already occupied in the 100-unit complex, just off Stewart Avenue on 11th Street in downtown Las Vegas. Another 12 tenants have signed leases in the $8.5 million, 55-and-over development, which was built with a combination of federal and private funds.

To be eligible, tenants must make no more than $19,800 for one person, or $22,600 for a couple. Monthly rents range from $395 for a 612-square-foot one-bedroom to $480 for a 798-square-foot two-bedroom.

The project is several blocks east of City Hall and next to the Las Vegas Housing Authority offices. At three stories, it marks another new mid-rise apartment complex in the area -- Campaige Place, which opened several years ago, is just down the street, as is City Center, which opened in the fall -- and it marks another central city project by Frank Hawkins' company, Community Development Programs Center of Nevada.

Hawkins, a former Las Vegas councilman, said the Harry Reid Community served several purposes: providing a clean, well-appointed low-cost place to live, adding people to a downtown area in search of commercial development and replacing run-down areas with new buildings.

"It will solve some of the problems of this area ... (and) it's a huge relief to the seniors across the street," Hawkins said.

Another company he started, the nonprofit Global Property Management Group, will run the Harry Reid Senior Community, which features social, exercise and laundry rooms, as well as a picnic area.

The building's namesake, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., discussed the apartments' amenities and the need for such housing, as he cracked jokes.

"I am so happy this has my name on it," Reid said, as he related a story about one of his children naming a grandchild after him. That was an honor, he said, but it also pointed out an omission by his other children.

"I was surprised how good it feels to have my grandson (named after me) ... but after the surprise wore off, I thought my (other) four children should have done it before," Reid said, drawing laughter.

He also praised the partnership between the government and Hawkins' company that allowed the project to get funding and offer comfortable living at a low cost.

"I am a true believer in subsidized housing. ... The problem in America is we don't have enough," Reid said.

The project is in Councilman Lawrence Weekly's ward. Weekly said the project is "wonderful, great, and a win-win for the (community) and the seniors."