VICTORIA – The St. John’s Place apartments are being created in a 41,000-square-foot vacant nursing home in Victoria.

The 12 senior apartments are expected to be completed in April of this year. The project started when a man who had moved back to Victoria to care for aging parents saw the building and bought it at a sheriff’s sale for $1. He established the Victoria Community Coalition to lead the project.

The hope is that older residents will move there, freeing up houses for families wanting to move to Victoria.

Hansen funds were used to purchase windows, install a new sewer system, new HVAC ductwork, plumbing and sheetrock. Apartment doors have been ordered.

Local support was strong. More than 150 people volunteered to help with interior demolition, and local donations provided necessary grant matching money. About $56,000 was raised by selling recycled materials from the building.

The plan is to utilize other parts of the building for other uses in further phases of development. Child care, a community room with a kitchen, coffee and soft drink area, a workspace for remote workers, and other options are being explored.