New Senior Apartment Building in Oakdale is Already Nearly Full

Pat and Chuck Weisner decided they wanted to live in Cypress Senior Living back when it was still a pile of dirt, they said.

But on Thursday, they were among those gathered in the new complex's community room to celebrate its completion. It’s located off of 50^th Street, just east of Hadley Avenue in .

“So far, everybody here is really friendly and helpful,” said Pat Weisner.

The couple was the first to apply for a spot in the affordable, independent living, 55-plus apartments, and they were willing to wait a year-and-a-half for their new home to be completed, they said.

They wanted an affordable seniors-only building, that was relatively small—Cypress Senior Living has 39 units—and after living in the new complex since it opened in September, they said they’ve found what they were looking for.

“You know everybody. This is like our little community,” Chuck Weisner said. “Most everybody here feels the same way.”

It’s not uncommon for residents to help each other out with tasks like walking a dog, or hanging a picture, Pat Weisner said.

Even though the building has been open less than three months, all but two of its units are already leased, said property manager Paulina McNamara.

The building includes one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments at rents of $775 and $875 respectively, and residents must meet income guidelines to qualify to live there, she said.

This year, the maximum income for a one-person household is $34,740 per year, according to a brochure. Four of the units are also being used for long-term homeless housing, coordinated by Washington County, McNamara said.

Senior housing is the last major piece in the Red Oak Preserve development, which includes an apartment building, affordable homes provided through Habitat for Humanity and Two Rivers Community Land Trust as well as market-rate single-family houses built by Ryland Homes.

City and county officials began working in 2003 to redevelop Red Oak Preserve, which with infrastructure problems, fire safety issues and a lot of police calls, Assistant to the Administrator Dave Schaps told the Oakdale Economic Development Commission Wednesday.

“It’s kind of neat to be able to come into this site,” Schaps said, “and actually see after a number of years of hard work and a lot of different groups coming together what that can turn out to be.”