AUSTIN (KXAN) — Coming soon(ish) to Austin: The city’s first LGBTQ-affirming, affordable housing community for seniors.
The project, Iris Gardens, will include around 150 units when construction is finished. That’ll be in about two years, according to Family Eldercare CEO Dr. Aaron Alarcon.
“We will serve anybody, regardless of their gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression, and the facility will provide services and affirmation to those older adults that identify as part of the LGBTQ community,” Alarcon told KXAN at a groundbreaking event Wednesday. “Family Eldercare is thrilled to be the organization that was able to take this project that has been in the works since approximately 2007 across the finish line.”
Iris Gardens will be built in the 1000 block of Montopolis Drive. It will be the third such community in Texas and the first in central Texas.
Why is it important that the facility is LGBTQ+ affirming? Alarcon said research shows that older adults in the LGBTQ+ community experience housing discrimination at nearly double the rate of those who are not. That sort of discrimination also compounds for older adults who are also part of another marginalized group.
“A lot of older adults who are either gay, lesbian or queer, often have to go back in the closet when they find admission at a facility like assisted living or a nursing home, because these facilities usually are not equipped to provide services to this community,” Alarcon said. “Having this community is important, in order to provide this community an opportunity to age in place and to age with dignity.”
The groundbreaking ceremony included State Sen. Sarah Eckhart, D-Austin, Travis County Judge Andy Brown and Austin City Council Member Ryan Alter. From local nonprofits came ECHO Executive Director Matthew Molica, Age of Central Texas CEO Suzanne Anderson and members of the Family Eldercare board. Other city and county officials also attended and spoke at the event.
Eckhart said she’s been “delighted” to watch the project reach this point.
“Most of the people here I am on a first-name basis with, and have had direct involvement in either this project or other projects. It’s such a homecoming on a real success,” she said. “I just couldn’t be prouder of this public-private affordable housing community … [it] really shows such a commitment and camaraderie to tackle our affordable housing problems and challenges here.”
A highlight of the ceremony was 91-year-old Richard Gardner, a gay man and a resident at a different Family Eldercare facility. He said the development excites him because it gives more places for “well-seasoned adults” to live, and it provides a supportive home for well-seasoned LGBT adults.
“There’s a difference between having a place to live and having a place that is really a home,” he said. “I can tell you that for most of my life, I didn’t feel like I belonged. It wasn’t until much later in life that I began to understand what was missing.”
Gardner came out decades ago following a divorce, which he called a “very painful time in his life.”
“Once I was divorced and completely out of the closet, I started doing work to know who I was inside and out and to truly love myself. It was such a relief to live my life with honesty. But still, there was something missing,” he said.
What was missing was community, he said. In his 70s, he made an intentional decision to start meeting more with his peers.
“I’ve learned so much about myself through these relationships and feel loved for who I am,” Gardner said. “I cannot say enough about how important this is, and that’s exactly the environment Iris Gardens will create, especially for those in the LGBTQ+ community. A peer group, people who can relate to you … friends and neighbors who support you through good times and bad, a family to lean on as you grow older, together, a home where you belong.”
A grand opening for Iris Gardens is expected to happen in May 2027.