Housing for disabled built
This summer, disabled veterans may well be able to have a disability accessible duplex to call home in Butler.
Accessible Dreams of Washington, Pa., in conjunction with the Nonprofit Development Corporation, is building a duplex at 316-320 S. Chestnut St., potentially available to anyone with a disability but with the hopes it will go to a disabled veteran.
Accessible Dreams' Karen DuVall explained the desire to house disabled veterans.
“Our mission is to provide housing with people with disabilities,” she said. “We see a large veteran community in the Butler area.
“We believe that it's an underserved demographic, and you know it's a group that some of us feel very strongly about, and we thought that would be something we'd really like to do. “
Accessible Dreams contacted VA Butler Healthcare, which in turn distributed information to its caseworkers to get the word out to disabled veterans in need of housing.
The duplex will be a 2,096-square-foot building with two bedrooms and a bathroom that project manager Dave Ball described as fit for two to three people.
It will have a no-step entry, minimum 36-inch doorways and hallways, a bathroom with a 5-foot spin radius to accommodate wheelchairs, roll-under counter space in the kitchen for wheelchairs, grab bars in the bathroom, and the potential for specific adaptations to be made as needed.
The property was bought from the housing authority for $30,000 on what Ball called a “distressed lot.”
“It puts property back on the tax rolls for Butler, so that's good,” he said. “We're hoping to find additional property to replicate this project.”
The Nonprofit Development Corporation is in charge of the duplex's construction. NDC President Doug Cannon said the framing of the building began two weeks ago and the completion date is set for June.
“This weather's helped us out greatly,” he said.
According to Ball, the cost of the project, including site acquisition, engineering, design, project management and construction, will be $330,000. While there is not yet a set living cost for the duplex, DuVall said that veterans with a high level of disability can qualify for voucher programs of up to $70,000 or can qualify for subsidies.
“So far it's been a good project,” Ball said. “It's worked well. We're very pleased with it. We're very pleased with the builder. They've been great. We've had a good relationship with the city of Butler.”
