Construction on a new affordable senior housing community could begin at the end of 2011.

On Aug. 9 Auburn City Council approved the 60-unit Mercy Auburn Senior Apartments project, which will sit on 2.9 acres currently located on the Sisters of Mercy campus.

The parcel, at 585 Sacramento St., will be split from the campus.

The $16.8-million project is being funded through the Auburn Urban Development Authority and the federal Housing and Urban Development fund. Additional funding will come from federal, state and local programs, according to developer Rich Ciraulo of Mercy Housing.

The city’s development authority is contributing $400,000 to the project.

The property is in a single-family residential zone, but the city approved a use permit to allow a multiple-family development.

Under single-family zoning, four units are allowed per acre, or 12 units for this property. Because it is an affordable housing community, the city approved a density bonus that allows 48 additional units to be constructed, for a total of 60 units.

According to Sister Susan McCarthy, site administrator for Mercy Center Auburn, construction for the project could begin toward the end of 2011.

Ciraulo said this is an accurate, although tentative, date, and construction would take about a year.

The Mercy Center Auburn staff is now looking at some changes that will be necessary for construction to begin, including the removal of a two-bedroom hermitage, or gatehouse, building on campus.

McCarthy said those on the campus are excited about the approval of the project.

“We are very pleased, actually, that it is going forward,” McCarthy said. “We have come to realize there is a real need for affordable housing for seniors.”

Reg Murray, senior planner for the city of Auburn, said Ciraulo now needs to apply for a building permit, supply improvement plans including sewer and electricity for the property, and submit a parcel map that the Planning Department would need to approve before it could be filed with the county.

Ciraulo said now that the project has secured city and federal funding, it is more competitive for California State Housing and Community Development Department HOME program funding, which Mercy Housing will apply for in September.

After Mercy Housing finds out if it secured the state funds at the end of 2010, documents can be submitted to the city, Ciraulo said.

Ciraulo said he hopes to keep neighbors informed about the project as much as possible.

“We are new neighbors, and we want to be good neighbors and keep neighbors up to speed on what’s going on,” he said.

McCarthy said she has spoken to some concerned neighbors, and she doesn’t know what the impact of the complex will be in the future, but she hopes to communicate with residents as much as she can.

“I’m anticipating there will be ongoing information at the appropriate times along the way,” she said.

Reach Bridget Jones at bridgetj@goldcountrymedia.com