Progress begins on 20 affordable senior housing units in Mt. Pleasant Township

Construction on the Church View Senior Residences in Mt. Pleasant Township is set to begin now that ground has been broken near the St. Florian Parish.

The late state Rep. Mike Reese was involved in the selection of the site and planning of the residences before he passed away in 2021. His family joined Westmoreland County officials at the groundbreaking ceremony last week.

“It will be so exciting to see it (built),” said Reese’s widow, Angela.

Westmoreland County Housing Authority and other officials recognized the efforts of Reese in bringing the project to fruition.

“While Mike may have made this project possible, this is only part of his legacy,” said Commissioner Ted Kopas.

His family lives just across the road from the church, which they attend. When St. Florian parishioners were looking for sites to build senior housing in 2018-19, they turned to her husband for support, Angela Reese said.

“He was all in,” she said. “Mt. Pleasant is where he grew up … Mt. Pleasant was his heart. He loved this community more than anything.”

Eventually, they settled on a two-acre portion of land directly next to St. Florian Parish. The Diocese of Greensburg donated the land for the residences.

“It’s great they were able to bring hospitality and homes to those, especially in this area, because there’s really nothing like this (nearby),” said the Rev. Paul Lisik.

Michael Washowich, the housing authority executive director, said the roughly $5 million, 20-unit housing project is fully funded.

The housing authority will cover $2.2 million of the cost, according to Washowich. An additional $500,000 is coming from the state Housing Finance Agency.

Two $300,000 chunks are being separately funded by the Union Mission and state ACT 137 funds, he said.

“We’ve now … invested $4.3 million in affordable senior housing here in Westmoreland County,” said county Commissioner Doug Chew. “We’re looking to build senior housing in places that seniors grew up, places that they live, so that they can stay next to the community and the neighbors that they know.”

Construction on the Church View Senior Residences is slated to be complete next year, Washowich said, at which time applications will be accepted.

“It was just, again, something that was special to Mike’s heart because it was his church, it was his community. It was for people who were in his life,” Angela Reese said. “I feel as though a lot of them (moving in) will be people that we know.”