On Tuesday, October 28, CHEER held a groundbreaking ceremony for a major expansion of its 34-acre CHEER Gateway East Senior Residential Village. The event was held at the CHEER Community Center in Georgetown and featured remarks from distinguished guests, including Delaware State Housing Administration (DSHA) Director Matthew Heckles and State Senator Brian Pettyjohn. Other elected officials were in attendance, including Senator David Wilson and County Councilman John Rieley.
The 34-acre village is currently anchored by the existing CHEER Community Center and a CHEER-owned 60-unit low-income senior apartment building. Tuesday’s groundbreaking marks the official start of construction for two significant new buildings:
Gateway East Apartments 1:
A new 59-unit residential building designed to provide vital, affordable housing for low- to moderate-income seniors in Sussex County. This is the first of four additional apartment buildings planned for the site, which will eventually add 236 new low-income senior apartments. Once open, monthly rent is forecast to range from $474 to $1170, depending on income.
CHEER Administration and Support Services Building:
A new, centralized hub that will house all CHEER administrative and in-home services management personnel within a single facility.
This new support services facility will centralize CHEER staff from multiple sites, eliminating the current need for leased office space. Critically, this move will also free up office space in the existing CHEER Community Center, allowing for the expansion of more senior citizen programs and activities. The new building will also increase access for senior citizens to CHEER staff while providing enhanced capabilities for recruiting and training CHEER personnel.
Placing these new housing and service facilities on the same campus will enhance CHEER’s ability to serve an ever-expanding and aging senior citizen population county-wide for decades to come. Construction is estimated to be complete by October 2026.
“This project is not just a construction site, it’s a foundation for the future,” commented Beckett Wheatley, CHEER’s CEO. “Sussex County’s senior population is growing faster than anywhere else in Delaware — and with that growth comes responsibility. The Gateway East Village is not just about buildings. It’s about people — ensuring that every older adult has access to safe, affordable housing and the services they need to age in place.”
For more information about Gateway East Apartments, go to: https://www.cheerde.com/senior-citizen-housing/