When an elderly resident at Eagles Manor passed Rep. Denny Rehberg a small painting during a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday, he told the congressman in a quaking voice that the picture was a gift "for remembering us seniors and handicap" citizens of Montana.

The residents of Eagles manor had plenty to celebrate as Montana's lone congressman stood among them to officially open a new $6.2 million facility for Helena's low-income seniors.

The project continues a nearly seven-year push to restore the Eagles Manor apartment complex on Helena's east side to better times, providing comfortable living for those over 62 who earn a modest income.

"I don't need to tell you folks the problems we're having with both the housing markets and financial institutions in the nation today," Rehberg, R-Mont., told the roomful of seniors. "There are getting to be more problems and less ability to afford affordable housing, so this is the kind of project that's so very important."

The effort to renovate the retirement facility began in 2002 when the City of Helena, the owners of Eagles Manor and Rocky Mountain Development Council received a planning grant to explore the needed upgrades.

Back then, the roof on the main facility leaked and the walls were poorly insulated. During cold weather, windows iced up from the inside out. Tenants had no control over the temperature of their rooms.

But the campus has come a long way since then, starting with a $5.1 million effort in 2003 to refurbish the main building and its 66 apartments.

Five years later at a cost of around $6.3 million, phase two of the project is now finished as well, providing an additional 30 spacious apartments in the new building, which made its official opening Thursday.

Low-income seniors like Vonnie Zaharko, who lives with her dog, Princess, in the new facility, is pleased to have such a nice place to call home.

"It's one of the better moves I ever could have done," she said Thursday, standing at the door of her room. "With the way my finances were going since my husband passed away, it really came in handy for me."

Zaharko, who's now 65, moved into her room just one month ago and has decorated the place to feel like home. Already, 28 of the building's 30 rooms are occupied.

Bobbi Sue Carothers, the property manager, hurried about the new facility Thursday, talking with residents as they made their way to the meeting with Rehberg.

She paused in a common space where a fire burned warmly, surrounded by a circle of couches.

"In all our facilities, we try to plan our living spaces as if it was their own home," Carothers said. "Many of the comforts they'd have in a bigger home they can now share in a community area like this."

Jeff Miller, director of RMDC, said construction on phase three will begin today. In its entirety, the Eagles Manor project will run close to $20 million when finished, creating 140 apartments for seniors who meet the facility's low-income status.

Miller attributed the project's success to the "foresight, fortitude and good fortune" brought on by the volunteer board members who helped build and run the facility starting the 1960s.

While RMDC now manages the property, Miller said it remains a cooperative effort, a sentiment reflected by Lewis and Clark County Commissioner Andy Hunthausen and Sharon Haugen, director of community development for the city.

"It's not often we get successes in affordable housing," Haugen said. "But fortunately we're here today to celebrate a success in that story."

Reporter Martin Kidston: 447-4086 or mkidston@helenair.com