DES MOINES, IA – Ground was broken for a 90-unit affordable AHEPA-linked senior housing complex near a mall in Des Moines, Iowa with the blessing of Father Basil Hickman from St. George Greek Orthodox Church.

AHEPA Senior Living is behind the project, serving as the property development arm of one of the largest and oldest grassroots groups for American citizens of Greek heritage and admirers, more than 400 chapters.

The units will go to those over 62 who qualify, said The Des Moines Register about the ceremony and project. They are reserved for tenants earning 30 percent or less of the area median income, or $21,950 for one person.

Amenities will include a fitness area, patio, computer room, laundry unit and tenant gardens. Completion is expected in 2025. The event took place before AHEPA leaders, volunteers and guests, the newspaper said.

AHEPA Senior Living manages 5,500 units across 19 states. CEO Steve Beck said it has a waiting list that’s greater than the number of units available

“What makes Senior Living unique are the housing boards that we have that oversee the properties,” Beck said.

“Unlike other low-income senior housing properties, we have a local presence. They’re volunteers in the community. They help the residents celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter and barbecues,” he added.

The newest structure is the first the local AHEPA chapter has built since 2007, when the Department of Housing and Urban Development temporarily stopped offering funding for new low-income housing for the elderly.

“It’s what we thought we could do for the community,” James Karthan, a board member for AHEPA, told the newspaper. “Once you get involved, you see the good it’s doing, and it helps you look forward to going through the process again to help more people.”

Karthan and his wife, Christy, have been members of AHEPA since the early 1970s. She is the board president of Penelope 38 in Ankeny, a senior living project completed by AHEPA’s ladies’ auxiliary, and her husband has served on the boards of AHEPA’s other central Iowa projects.

He’ll be President of the senior living home near Southridge Mall. “It’s a long process, a lot of paperwork,” Christy Karthan said. “We’re very proud of our buildings,” she added.