Tucked near the corner of Timberline and Drake roads, within spitting distance of a bus stop, the Power Trail and shopping, sits Cadence, Fort Collins' newest apartment complex for lower-income people age 55 and older.

Built by Volunteers of America, Cadence has 55 units for people making between 20% and 80% percent of the area median income, which this year is $75,200 for an individual, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. A renter's maximum income to live at Cadence is $61,000; the minimum age is 55.

Rents range roughly from a low of $500 per month to a near-market rate of $1,700, helping meet the housing needs of a population of aging adults who largely told the county's office on aging in a recent survey that they lack adequate access to affordable housing.

With more than 25% of Larimer County's population to crest age 60 by 2025, demand is expected to rise for income-restricted and age-restricted housing as an aging population seeks safe, affordable housing.

"The site is perfect for low-income senior housing," said Doug Snyder, vice president of regional real estate development at Volunteers of America Colorado. The Transfort bus line that runs to the Fort Collins Senior Center is just outside its doors, King Soopers is across the street and the Power Trail provides ample opportunities for exercise.

Shopping, trails and transit are "three key things we look for in a site," Snyder said.

Rosalee Blumenshine, 86, was among the first to move into Cadence in June, moving from another age-restricted, income-restricted apartment complex in Fort Collins. "There's more peace and quiet," she said.

After watching the building go up for months at 2555 Joseph Allen Drive, Blumenshine said she applied in April and "kept at it" until she was accepted. She has a two-bedroom apartment with plenty of room for her crafting supplies. "I love it. It's a beautiful, nice place," she said.

The foyer features a coffee bar, grand piano, fireplace and comfortable seating that opens to a secluded courtyard with an outdoor kitchen, seating, raised garden beds, flowers and trees.

"We want residents to feel like they are coming into a hotel," Snyder said.

Cadence also features a small fitness center, business center and private conference room.

One- and two-bedroom units are available and come with full kitchens, washers and dryers, quartz countertops, spacious walk-in showers, subway tile and central air-conditioning.

Cadence needs to be full by the end of November to meet some financing thresholds, which Snyder believes the facility will meet due to the growing demand for affordable housing in Northern Colorado. It recently hired a site manager and "things are starting to pick up," said Tammie Andersen, senior director for VOA. "People don't know about us yet, but word is spreading."

Fort Collins faces growing need for affordable senior housing

Within the next three years, 26% of Larimer County's population is estimated to be over age 60, according to the Larimer County Office on Aging. It's due largely to the size of the baby boomer generation — the last of whom will hit 60 in 2024 — and because people tend to stay in Fort Collins as they age.

The state demographer suggests "the need for senior amenities is going to continue to increase in the foreseeable future partly because we're growing our own elders," said Sue Beck-Ferkiss, the city's social policy and housing programs manager. "People don't necessarily move away when they age. Other communities see more of an exodus ... we don't."

Larimer County is still attracting some parents who move here to be closer to their adult children, she said, "but mostly we're staying here as we age."

The city of Fort Collins provided some funding for Cadence through its Community Development Block Grant funds and affordable housing dollars to help keep rents low, Beck-Ferkiss said. At 20% AMI, Cadence provides housing for some of the lowest-income residents in the county.

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It is looking to rent to residents with a range of income levels, up to that 80% AMI, to help offset those renting at lower income levels, Snyder said.

"For affordable housing to serve low-income people, subsidies must be achieved at the front end to keep rents low," Beck-Ferkiss said. Even with low-income tax credits, "the city helped provide gap funding so rents could be achievable by low-income residents."

And as that population ages into their 70s, 80s and 90s, the need for all different types of housing options will only grow.

Fort Collins has nearly 800 income-restricted and age-restricted apartments and many more market-rate units for people 55 or older. Cadence is among a scant number of age-restricted and income restricted housing projects to open in Fort Collins in the past four years.

According to a recent survey conducted by the Larimer County Office on Aging, about 13% of older residents felt they had good access to affordable quality housing, a decline of 20% since 2010.

"The need is certainly greater than what we have available today," Beck-Ferkiss said, and she "gets calls every week" from developers interested in building more income-restricted housing.

Beck-Ferkiss said she was impressed with Cadence after touring is last week. "I love the welcoming, hospitality-like presence," she said. "It just felt really like someplace people would like to live and it's in an excellent location for healthful living."

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Volunteers of America, which built The Sanctuary on Kunz Court — 59 apartments for low-income people age 62 and older — has decades of experience "building and managing affordable housing for seniors," said Rachel Gaisford, spokesperson for Housing Catalyst, which partnered with VOA on Cadence.

"Their expertise in senior living was one of the reasons Housing Catalyst (the city's housing authority) was excited to partner with them on this project," Gaisford said.

Housing Catalyst builds and manages housing for low-income residents and provides housing assistance, including vouchers, through several federal programs. Seniors with housing vouchers may use them to live at Cadence, but it is not a prerequisite.

Last year, 46% of vouchers Housing Catalyst administered went to families whose head of household was 55 or older, Gaisford said. "We know many seniors are living on fixed incomes that are not keeping pace with the housing market in Larimer County," Gaisford said.

Other Fort Collins age-restricted, income-restricted housing

• Remington Plaza, 300 Remington St., 126 units. 55-plus

• Legacy Senior Residences, 413 N. Linden St., 72 apartments, 55-plus

• Oakbrook 1, 3200 Stanford Road, 107 apartments, 62-plus

• Northern Hotel, 172 N. College Ave., 47 apartments, 62-plus

• Oakbrook II, 3300 Stanford Road, 100 apartments, 62-plus

• Oakridge Crossing, 4786 McMurry Ave., 110 apartments, 62-plus

• Reflections Senior Apartments, 321 E. Troutman Parkway, 72 apartments, 62-plus

• The Sanctuary, 3732 Kunz Court, 59 apartments, 62-plus

• The Villages at Bryan (Housing Catalyst), 114 S. Bryan Ave., 27 apartments, 55-plus

• Windtrail Park (CARE Housing), 2120 Bridgefield Lane, 10 apartments, 62-plus

• Woodbridge Senior Apartments, 1508 W. Elizabeth St., 50 apartments, 62-plus

Learn more about Cadence in Fort Collins

For additional information, call 970-658-9025. Apartments are income qualified with a minimum age of 55 and maximum income of $61,000.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Cadence senior housing serves Fort Collins' lower income residents