After more than seven years of planning, development and HUD review, Lutheran Social Services of Michigan (LSSM) broke ground January 10 for the construction of Alison House, a 14-unit single level apartment building in Delta Township, just outside Lansing, for adults with physical disabilities. More than 70 persons attended the ceremony, followed by a reception in a heated tent.

U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, who has been very supportive of the project, was the honored guest at the event, during which Sue Kamens, mother of Alison Kamens for whom the facility is named, rode a bulldozer to take the first bite of earth. In 1998, Kamens and husband, Al, now-retired pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Lansing, started a community task force that led to the plans for Alison House. Construction is expected to take 10 months.

The idea for this project grew out of Alison Kamens’ wish to move into her own place. She and her parents found very few housing options for mentally capable but physically handicapped individuals, such as those with muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis and similar crippling diseases, and those handicapped in accidents. Unless they are independently wealthy, adults with these types of handicaps usually live with family or in a nursing home or senior residence. Alison, who suffered from congenital muscular dystrophy, died in 1997 at age 23 before realizing her dream.

After Alison died, the Kamenses pursued their desire to see other adults with disabilities become more independent. In October 1998, Sue Kamens wrote to the late Dr. Carl Thomas, then president of LSSM, to ask him to consider building an apartment facility for people like Alison. With the Kamenses’ help, LSSM started a task force to do the research and planning.

“Truly barrier free apartments are hard to come by,” said Kamens. “People in wheelchairs need apartments with roll-in showers, bathrooms big enough for wheelchairs to enter, doorknobs and cabinets at a lower level, kitchens with turning space, and no two-inch door jambs. For someone in a chair, a two-inch rise is like a mountain. This kind of housing is essential so young adults can live independently, not in a senior citizens’ facility and not in a nursing home.”

Most of the funding for Alison House comes from a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In addition, LSSM received a grant for five-year Project Rental Assistance Contract (PRAC) from HUD for rent subsidies.

Alison House was designed by architect Tim Alspach of TJA Architecture, Inc., and it will be built by Paul McGraw of McGraw Construction. Both companies are based in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Access to the property is from Earlington, which runs between N. Creyts Road on the east and Brookside Drive on the west. The building’s private drive will be called Alison House Lane.

The apartment building will have 10 one-bedroom and four two-bedroom barrier-free units, each with a living room, dining area, fully accessible kitchen, full bath and storage space. The two-bedroom units are for residents with a child or a live-in personal care assistant. The building will feature a community room, small catering kitchen and laundry facilities. All apartments will be wired for Internet access.

“Our daughter Alison, I’m sure, would be glad this all has happened,” Kamens said. “This apartment house will provide much-needed independent living possibilities for this population of people. We’re very grateful that Lutheran Social Services of Michigan believed in this project and stuck with us. This will serve a group that we have not recognized, really, for a very long time.”

Alison House is expected to open in the autumn of 2006.  For rental information, contact Bill Lutz, director of Housing Services at LSSM, at (313) 823-7700.