MATAMORAS, PA — A ground-breaking ceremony was held in Westfall Township on October 8 just outside of Matamoras, near the Kmart store, to build a 93-unit affordable senior citizen housing complex at Paddlers Point. The units are expected to be available for rent in about a year.

The developer of the project is Jonah Mendelbaum, whose company MJJ Builders, based in Warwick, NY, has constructed senior complexes in Sullivan, Orange and Ulster Counties in New York. He has built some 2,000 senior units in New York, this is his first project in Pennsylvania.

Among the guests at the groundbreaking were state representatives Rosemary Brown and Mike Peifer; state Senator Lisa Baker; Pike County commissioners Matt Osterberg, Richard Caridi and Karl Wagner; and Michael Sullivan, executive director of the Pike County Economic Development Authority (EDA).

Some 100 seniors attended the event. Sullivan said that more than 20% of Pike County residents are seniors, which is one of the highest percentages of seniors in the state. He said the complex would provide jobs and could be beneficial to the local economy, both during and after construction.

Osterberg said it was not fair that seniors had to leave the area to find suitable housing. He said, “They don’t want to do that. They want to stay home. They want to stay near family and friends.”

Baker said, “We are providing affordable, available and comfortable housing for our seniors, so that they can live in dignity and safety.”

The 93 units in the approximately $10 million project will be available to people who are 55 years of age and older, and who meet income eligibility requirements as defined by the federal government.