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Mt. Aaron Village taking applications for new supportive affordable housing units

A rendering of Mt. Aaron Village apartments.
Mt. Aaron Village
A rendering of Mt. Aaron Village apartments.

As Mt. Aaron Baptist Church continues to expand its footprint near Genesee Street and Jefferson Avenue in Buffalo, the church is taking applications for apartments in its new affordable housing complex.

Pastor Dwayne Jones said the 59 units of Mt. Aaron Village are slated to be finished in early November and that's why the church is taking applications for residences. They are on the other side of Jefferson, along Genesee, from the church.

It's the latest project for the church after renovations to the Mt. Aaron building and then its senior housing building across the parking lot, Mt. Aaron Manor, also along Genesee Street.

Jones said a key element of this $26 million project is that it has some three-bedroom family apartments in their own building in the complex and 17 townhouses. He said it's a carefully thought-out plan for the neighborhood.

"It's located on 2.2 acres. It consists of 59 apartments, 17 townhouses and the renting commercial space to BestSelf for supportive services, not just to the residents, but to the whole community," he said. "Guess what? People that have depression, it crosses all races, lives and creeds."

Jones said he has a professional management company to run Mt. Aaron Village. He also has more construction under consideration in that same Genesee and Jefferson community, while looking for a supermarket to move in and watching the three schools in his neighborhood taking care of the children.

Mike Desmond is one of Western New York’s most experienced reporters, having spent nearly a half-century covering the region for newspapers, television stations and public radio. He has been with WBFO and its predecessor, WNED-AM, since 1988. As a reporter for WBFO, he has covered literally thousands of stories involving education, science, business, the environment and many other issues. Mike has been a long-time theater reviewer for a variety of publications and was formerly a part-time reporter for The New York Times.