Groundbreaking Friday For Orinda Senior Apartments

Shiny shovels will turn the earth at noon Friday for Orinda's long-awaited senior apartment complex downtown.

Orinda Senior Apartments at 2 Irwin Way will be Orinda's first affordable housing community in 30 years, said Catherine Relucio, communications manager for Eden Housing of Hayward, the manager of the project. It will feature 67 affordable rental apartments in "a quintessential infill site conveniently located in the downtown area, in close proximity to transportation, services and community amenities," states an Eden Housing news release.

The target completion date is June 2014, said Relucio. The name for now is "Orinda Senior Apartments" but authorities are thinking about coming up with a new name. Tell us in the comments below if you have a bodacious idea to name the complex.

At the noon Friday groundbreaking, there will be shovels ready for Orinda Mayor Amy Worth and the City Council, Congressman George Miller, Assembly Member Joan Buchanan, and other dignitaries.

Amenities at Orinda Senior Apartments will include:

• on-site management offices.
• a large community room with a full kitchen.
• an exercise room.
• a library/computer center.
• laundry facilities.
• a courtyard with a barbecue area and community garden.

The apartments are available for senior households "earning at or below 30 to 50 percent of the Contra Costa County Area Median Income," according to the Eden Housing press release.