Oregon Congressman Earl Blumenauer is the featured speaker at the grand opening of the new Gilman Court apartment complex, which will be held on July 20 from 3 to 4:30 p.m. at 610 N.E. 99th Ave.

The free event, featuring music and refreshments, is open to the public.

Blumenauer will speak in honor of his friend Dennis Gilman, who passed away in 2001. The new complex is named after Gilman, co-founder and first director of REACH Community Development Corporation, the nonprofit that owns and developed the building. Gilman’s two surviving daughters, Maggie Gilman Holm and Cadie Gilman, will also speak, along with Portland City Commissioner Dan Saltzman; Dan Valliere, REACH’s executive director; and Roger Hinshaw, market president of Bank of America’s Oregon and SW Washington divisions.

In late April, crews from R & H Colas Construction Company completed the 60-unit, $15.8 million complex for low-income seniors 55 and over. By late June, 49 units were rented, according to Laura Recko, public relations manager for REACH. The nonprofit stopped accepting applications after receiving 150. “We’ve actually closed the waitlist,” Recko said. “We have more people than units available. That pretty much always happens with us. It happens with probably every affordable project in the country, I suspect.”

During the grand opening, people can tour a unit in the building. “We always knew that by the time we had our grand opening, we would probably be full,” Recko said. “So in terms of units to tour, we’ll probably end up having to ask some nice tenant if they’d be willing to let us tour their unit. Typically, we’ll find somebody who’s willing to do that.”

Crews spent the last part of April adding final changes to the building, including the computer room, the heating and cooling system, plantings outside and on the fifth floor deck and artwork inside.

One of the outdoor features of the building is a living wall that contains plants at the bottom, growing up the side of a tall wall. “It’s cool,” Recko said. “It’s a neat little feature of the building.”

Seniors earning 30 to 60 percent of the area’s current median family income—$15,450 to $30,900 for single-family households—are eligible for one-bedroom apartments at the complex.

Four of the 60 units will rent for $325 a month, plus utilities, for seniors earning 30 percent of median family income.

The other 56 units, renting for $605 to $540 per month plus utilities, are reserved for seniors earning 55 percent of median family income.

Glisan Commons Phase I, a 67-unit, five-story building of workforce housing owned by Human Solutions, stands next to the complex. Ride Connection, a transportation service provider for seniors and people with disabilities, occupies the Commons’ main floor.

Staff members of REACH will provide property management for both Gilman Court and Glisan Commons. Human Solutions offers resident services for both buildings.

The two complexes also share a 64-space parking lot. Twenty additional parking spaces are open evenings and weekends during hours when Ride Connection is closed.

For more information, contact gilmancourt@reachcdc.org or call 971-277-7196.