Lynnfield board OKs hike of senior housing prices

LYNNFIELD – The Board of Selectmen unanimously approved a proposal from the Lynnfield Initiatives for Elders, Inc. Board of Directors Monday night to raise the prices of the organization’s senior housing units.Joe Maney, L.I.F.E. board president, told the selectmen that the organization depends on three sources of revenue to maintain its replacement fund, which pays for upgrades to the housing units at Center Village and Essex Village, in addition to village building and grounds upkeep. The fund is made up of investment income, a $30 monthly contribution from each resident for maintenance and a periodic rise in housing unit prices.When an individual sells his or her unit, Maney said, L.I.F.E. subtracts the unit’s purchase price from the current price, and the amount is split evenly between the replacement fund and the individual. However, he said unit prices in Center Village and Essex Village have remained steady over the past five years because of the state of the real estate market.The two-bedroom units at Essex Village on Essex Street were $199,000, and the units at Center Village on Main Street were $139,000 for a one-bedroom unit and $169,000 for a two-bedroom unit.”The situation we faced is there are people who moved in at $199,000 and moved out at $199,000, so there’s no portion to share,” Maney said.Therefore, Maney recommended, and the Board of Selectmen agreed, to change the Essex Village unit price to $229,000, a Center Village one-bedroom unit to $150,000 and a Center Village two-bedroom unit to $184,000.The selectmen also supported Maney’s request that even if there is a difference between the current and purchase price when an individual moves, a fee will first be collected if an individual is moving within the two villages. The money will go to improve the unit that will be sold. The fee is $10,000 for Essex Village units, $6,000 for Center Village one bedrooms and $8,000 for two bedrooms at that location.If there is any money left over from the appreciation of the unit, Maney said it will be split evenly between L.I.F.E. and the individual.Sarah Mupo can be reached at [email protected].