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Catholic PRWire

Beth Dugan, External Communications Manager
Sisters of Mercy West Midwest Community
e-mail: bdugan@mercywmw.org
phone: 773-779-6011 x15


The Sisters of Mercy and CommonBond Communities Break Ground on Innovative New Housing for Lower Income Families

WATERLOO, IOWA (January 26, 2010) - As they tossed shovelfuls of dirt on a foggy Friday afternoon, representatives from the Sisters of Mercy West Midwest Community, CommonBond Communities, Unity Neighborhood Association and city government all celebrated the fact that they are one step closer to realizing their vision of quality, affordable housing for East Waterloo, Iowa.

The Sisters of Mercy West Midwest in partnership with CommonBond Communities broke ground on Jan. 22, for Unity Square, CommonBond Communties’ newest family town home development. Located on a three-acre site at the corner of Newell and Mobile Streets and just a block from the Walter Cunningham School for Excellence, the development will consist of 40 new units of quality, affordable, service-enriched family rental homes. These units will include two-, three-, and four-bedroom homes for families living on limited incomes. Other amenities will include surface parking and tuck-under garages, as well as a playground for residents’ children.

The projected cost of the project is $9.3 million, which CommonBond obtained from a variety of funding sources. The Sisters of Mercy West Midwest Community’s commitment to the funding is $300,000 over five years. Construction will begin immediately and project completion is anticipated by fall 2010.

What makes this development special is the community center where residents can take advantage of comprehensive, on-site services that promote economic self sufficiency, empowerment and youth and academic success, a goal of CommonBond developments. The services will include mentoring for adults and children, computer classes and employment preparation. The Sisters of Mercy West Midwest Community will collaborate with CommonBond to provide these services. The 1,650 square-foot center will be called Mercy Advantage Center and will be located in the center of the development.

Before they walked to the construction site for the groundbreaking ceremony, developers and supporters of the project gathered at the nearby school for official remarks. Speakers were: Sisters Kathy Thill, RSM, Ministry Director, and Kathy Thornton, RSM, Leadership Team, both of the Sisters of Mercy West Midwest Community; Paul Fate, president, CommonBond Communities; Charles Myles, President, Unity Neighborhood Association; Quentin Hart, City Council Member, Ward 4; and Ernest G. Clark, Mayor of Waterloo. Representative Deborah Berry, State Representative, House District 22, a major supporter of the project, was unable to be present.

According to Sister Thill, Unity Square is the culmination of years of efforts by the Sisters of Mercy to address Waterloo’s need for quality low income housing for the east side of the city.

“My excitement today can only be topped when we gather a block from here in a few months to celebrate the grand opening of Unity Square,” Sister Thill said. “As Sisters of Mercy we’re proud to bring this much needed quality affordable housing to Waterloo, but the reality is it’s all of us who are bringing it here,” Sister Thill said.

Sister Thornton said she could feel the presence of Catherine McAuley, who founded the Sisters of Mercy. “Catherine was a woman of great faith and great action,” Sister Thornton said. “One of the things that has been said about Catherine is that she did the work of God on earth….Together we have together been doing the work of God on earth.”

Fate said this project was a perfect fit for his organization. “It’s perfect in terms of the type of housing we build and our partnership with the Sisters of Mercy, the city and the community,” he said. “We are all in alignment. We share the vision to build hope, home and community with support services as a major component of the project. We build affordable, dignified housing as a stepping stone for success. We know that we can only be as good as our partners on the ground we don’t think there are any better partners than the Sisters of Mercy.”

Myles said the name of the development was perfect fit for the neighborhood. “It’s time for us to come together in unity to make this a better neighborhood,” he said. “Unity (Neighborhood Association) has accomplished a lot in our community and this is an addition to our accomplishments. Thanks for showing that our neighborhood can still go.”

Councilman Hart said he can personally attest to the importance of the housing project to the Sisters of Mercy. The day after he took office in November 2007, “I received a call from Sister Kathy…to talk about the partnership opportunity with CommonBond.” His initial ...