KENT — Templeton Farms, a 24-unit senior housing complex on Swifts Lane, celebrated its 50th anniversary Sunday, Oct. 18, bringing together residents, board members, staff and neighbors to mark the milestone.
Attendees gathered at the senior center where former board member Catherine Bachrach gave a history of the complex that has been home to so many.
The audience was surprised to learn that the complex was built at a cost of $427,000 in 1976. “To build it today you’d have to add some zeroes onto that,” called out Kevin Brady, a board member and local contractor.
A grant from the Farmers Home Administration funded construction on land donated by the town. Voters narrowly approved the land transfer at a 1974 town meeting, 97 to 90.
The project stirred controversy, drawing opposition for a variety of reasons. Bachrach drew laughter when she recalled one complaint: The apartments would be too far from the town center, even though the commercial district is within easy walking distance.
There were cries that the complex would not generate any tax revenue, which proved to be not true.
“Ironically, many who opposed the plan wound up living there years later,” Bachrach said.
Since it was dedicated in July 1976,there have been between 150 and 175 residents, the vast majority from Kent or those with connections to the town.
Sixty-five to 70 Kent residents have served on the board of directors.
More controversy followed in 1978, when the town rejected a $100,000 grant under the Older Americans Act to establish a senior center.
Volunteers led by Amos Jennings later converted a barn on the property into a community room. In 1991, the senior center opened in an adjoining section of the barn with funding from a Small Cities Block Grant.
Improvements to apartments have been made over the years, sometimes over the opposition of tenants. One woman was adamant she didn’t want her kitchen updated. They waited until all others had been done and she finally acquiesced.
Bachrach read off a list of many familiar names who had a hand in different aspects of the complex.
Borrowing Martin Luther King’s term “a beloved community,” Bachrach said Templeton Farms is truly a haven.
Tegan Gawel is the current president and she called it “a treasure in plain sight.” She thanked the board and staff for their dedication.
Clytie Kennedy, president of the Residents’ Council, said she didn’t know what she would have done if Templeton Farms hadn’t been there for her when she retired.
“I love that they’re not too strict or regimented. The freedom we have here is wonderful. I love that I can keep my garden.”
She said she is grateful to the board that gives so much time and commitment. “I wish more people could come here, but I know there is a long waiting list.”
There are currently about 70 on that list. The rents are federally subsidized to keep them low.
Selectman Lynn Worthington said it is important for seniors to have safe living places.
She has strong connections to Templeton Farms, since her husband is a long-serving board member and six years ago her parents became tenants. Her father passed away, but her mother still lives there.
Catherine Cade, who has lived at Templeton Farms for 12 years, said she feels at home there.
“It’s not like living in a senior citizens development. It’s more like a neighborhood.”
