An LGBT-focused retirement community in Philadelphia which caters to gay low-income seniors has been hailed as called a model for the rest of America.

The six-storey John C. Anderson Apartments complex says it has been overwhelmed for demand, and already has a 100-person waiting list for spaces.

Gustavo Velasquez,of the the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), told the Guardian that the project is part of a broader campaign by the US government to address housing discrimination based on sexual orientation, as a result of an increasing number of ageing gay Americans.

A statement said: “At John C. Anderson Apartments, you’ll find an urban LGBT-friendly senior apartment community where everything you want is brought together”.

The community centre, known as “the gay-dy shady acres” is reportedly a model for similar federally backed housing projects such as in Washington D.C.

An estimated 1.5 million Americans who are 65 or older identify as LGBT – a number which is expected to double by 2030 according to the Institute for Multigenerational Health.

Philadelphia City Council recently voted on a city-wide measure to include sexual orientation and gender identity in the city’s hate crime code.