A new senior housing complex that fills a local need for affordable housing that allows seniors to live with independence and dignity in a secure and supportive environment has won the National Community Development Association’s prestigious Audrey Nelson award. The Bonnie Lane Elder Housing Apartments – built by Accessible Space., Inc. (ASI), in coordination with Clark County – is ideally located across the street from the County’s Cora Coleman Senior Center, its Bob Price Recreation Center and the recently completed Bob Price Trail system off Lake Mead Boulevard, east of Nellis Boulevard. The 66-unit facility is also close to grocery stores, pharmacies, banks, restaurants and places of worship. The County’s housing plan identifies both rental units serving low-income and extremely low-income families and housing for persons with special needs, including the elderly and frail elderly, as its top two priorities. There are 180,266 persons with special needs within the plan’s boundaries and a supply of 63,549 units specially designed to meet their needs. Of these, about 91,869 are elderly with only 46,407 units currently available. Similarly, among the physically disabled there are only 3,500 units available for 36,769 people. All 65 income-restricted units in Bonnie Lane are fully leased by households at below 50 percent of the area median income, which is $21,500 for a one-person household. The Bonnie Lane building and grounds are designed to maximize social supports, accessibility and independence. The building includes 14 fully wheelchair-accessible apartment units with custom-designed, oversized wheel-in showers, roll-under counters and cooktops, touch-activated faucets, power-assist entry doors, accessible washers and dryers, adjustable closet shelves, accessible electrical devices including counter-edge outlets and oven/fan controls. Additionally, all 66 resident units are designed with adaptations for the hearing and visually impaired. The building’s accessible community space amenities include push-plate, power-assisted doors, accessible trash rooms with pneumatic trash chutes, accessible public restrooms, two accessible bath spas, a wheelchair-accessible elevator including remote wheelchair-access controls, accessible computer room and an accessible community room with an entertainment center and kitchen. Accessible outdoor spaces include patio and sitting areas with barbeques, accessible picnic tables, a walking path and full-size shuffleboard courts. Bonnie Lane Apartments also features a library/lounge, a fully equipped exercise room, offices for management and service staff, a climate-controlled secure building, a vestibule entrance with sliding doors powered by long-range proximity card reader access, 74 covered accessible and standard parking stalls and a covered front entry vehicle drop-off area. More than 10 percent of the development’s electrical consumption is offset through photovoltaic solar cells installed on carport rooftops. ASI’s Resident Services Coordinator at Bonnie Lane Apartments works closely with Cora Coleman Senior Center staff to coordinate activities beneficial not only to the residents of Bonnie Lane Apartments but also to the neighboring seniors and their families using the Center. The Bonnie Lane Apartments site was secured in fall 2010 and the County Commission approved the project on March 5, 2013.