$500K Grant Awarded To Montco Affordable Senior Living Center

HATFIELD, PA — A local senior living facility is the recipient of state funding to help with renovations to turn the building into an affordable housing site.

The former Laudenslager School in Hatfield received a $500,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development to help with upgrades to convert the historic building into a 35-unit affordable housing complex for senior citizens, according to the office of State Rep. Steve Malagari, D-Montgomery.

The money from the state will help address environmental and age-related conditions at the building when it is converted from institutional to residential use, Malagari stated.

The lawmaker's office said that the community overwhelmingly preferred to have the historic building renovated for this project rather than torn down.

This plan, he said, enables the preservation of the building, which dates back to 1921.

"With local citizens' concerns in mind, the development team proposed a plan for the site that includes the preservation of the historic building," Malagari's office stated in a news release.

Malagari further stated that there appears to be a strong need for affordable senior housing in the Hatfield area, and that the community has come out in support of redevelopment efforts for this site.

In 2019, the Hatfield Museum & History Society stated that the original plan for the Laudenslager School was demolition to make way for a senior community, and that the Biblical Seminary, which had been operating at the site, planned to sell the building and relocate its operations to Philadelphia.

Preservation of the building, however, ultimately prevailed.

According to the Hatfield Museum & History Society, the school building was originally constructed as a joint effort between officials from both Hatfield Borough and Hatfield Township (two neighboring municipalities), and that the building at the time was considered state-of-the-art, providing education for students in grades 1st through 12th.

Biblical Seminary later purchased the school building, and it reopened back in 1971, according to the society.

A historic photo of the school building was posted four years ago on the society's Facebook page. It can be seen below.