By The Star Staff
Gov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia, along with island Housing Secretary William Rodríguez Rodríguez and Puerto Rico Housing Financing Authority (AFV) Executive Director Blanca Fernández, inaugurated the Senior Residences at Emerald Vista project in Caguas on Thursday.
The project had a total cost of $53 million and was accomplished through an investment of $14.4 million in CDBG-DR funds, in addition to private funds and tax credits. The project consists of a building with 200 one- and two-bedroom residential units, designed for low- and moderate-income individuals ages 62 and older.
“At the end of December 2021, I was here to inaugurate the first phase of this complex, which was the first multifamily housing project financed with CDBG-DR funds, where the former Residencial José Gautier Benítez previously stood,” the governor said in a written statement. “At that time, with the inauguration of Las Villas at Emerald Vista, a new community was established, here in the Turabo neighborhood of Caguas, with 238 units with all the needs and a variety of amenities, including green certification from the National Green Building Standard. This means that it provides resilience to its homes, with energy and water efficiency, maximizing the use of natural resources such as ventilation, recyclable materials, and solar panels and heaters.”
Pierluisi added that “today we return to Emerald Vista to inaugurate the second phase of this beautiful senior housing project called Senior Residences at Emerald Vista.”
“This complex is an example of how we want to do public housing now, with people and families of various income levels to create a mixed community in which all residents and their families live together and thrive,” the governor said.
The Housing secretary added that “this project offers a safe, comfortable and accessible space for one of the most deserving and often forgotten populations in our society.”
“These residences are designed to offer, not only security and comfort, but facilities adapted to the specific needs of the elderly,” Rodríguez said.
Each unit at Emerald Vista is equipped with a kitchen, living room, bathroom and bedroom, and features energy-efficient appliances, air conditioning units, ceiling fans and other amenities. It also includes 30 apartments adapted for people with physical, hearing or visual disabilities.