The Trent Center Apartments, which provides vital housing for seniors in the City of Trenton, received a $2,271,953 grant award from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to convert additional units into apartments for the frail and elderly, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) announced today.

    “These federal funds for apartment renovations will allow elderly residents now at the Trent Center Apartments to age in the surroundings they have become comfortable and familiar with, thereby, avoiding having to move into often costlier nursing home settings,” Smith said.

    This HUD Assisted Living Conversion Program grant will allow the remodeling of the 14-story building’s third floor to provide units for the frail elderly. Plans call for providing 17 fully accessible units with complete modifications that include the widening and modification of doors, bathrooms, and kitchens. 

    This year’s award follows a similar $2 million plus HUD grant received by the Trent Center Apartments last year which also permitted the conversion of 17 apartment units into assisted living facilities on the Trent Center’s second floor. The second floor assisted living project is nearly complete.

    “The 34 upgraded units on the second and third floors will allow more seniors to maximize their independence within the home-like atmosphere of the Trent Center,” said Rep. Smith.

    The third floor, second phase of the project is expected to take about eight to ten months to complete once work is started. The assisted living project at the Trent Center, Apartments which also includes some modifications to the dinning room and other common areas, is expected to be completed early in 2009.

    Overall, the Trent Center, which has been serving the community since 1965, has 229 units that provide affordable housing for residents over 55 years of age. The Trent Center is a non-sectarian housing complex sponsored by the Congregation Brothers of Israel.