Environments for Aging - Spring 2020 - 13

CALENDAR

Industry events
impacted by COVID-19

DIMELLA SHAFFER/MIKYOUNG KIM

Outdoor spaces will include gardens and a courtyard where senior residents, guests, and community members
can mingle.
mission to facilitate access to welcoming,
safe, and affordable housing for low-income
LGBTQ seniors. The organization then partnered with Pennrose (Philadelphia), a national
developer across multiple sectors including
a LGBTQ-friendly senior housing community
in Philadelphia. To find out what people were
looking for in housing, the project organizers
held community meetings and focus groups
with potential residents and community members. "Almost unanimously, people said they
want to live with a variety of people, they don't
want to be segregated into one specific type
of housing, but they want the environment to
be supportive and inclusive," Saad says.
Specifically, that means the built environment will reflect current trends in senior living
design, while the culture and programming at
the community will be purposely welcoming
to everyone with a focus on LGBTQ, he says.
While the project team was scanning
the market for available properties, the
73,586-square-foot Rogers school building,
which closed in June 2015, was put on the
market by the city's public school district. Saad
says the 1899 building was a great fit because
of its overall size, solid construction, and room
size, with the approximately 750-squarefoot classrooms easily lending themselves
to one-bedroom units. The project partners
went through a public bid process, and their
proposal was accepted in late 2019.
Design and planning began earlier this year
and is expected to take 8-10 months, Saad
says. The renovation, which will be designed
to adhere to the Massachusetts Historical
Commission's requirements in order to qualify
for historic tax credits, calls for the 4.5-story
building to house 74 mixed-income independent living units for seniors age 62+, mainly
one-bedroom apartments with a few twobedroom and studio spaces available. "Units
will be available in a range of incomes so that

the development will be accessible to a wider
range of prospective residents," he says. Units
will feature universal design elements, such as
larger-than-required clearances around beds,
closets, and bathrooms; roll-in showers; and
ample space to accommodate mobility devices such as walkers and wheelchairs.
Based on community feedback, the building design will incorporate sustainable design
features using Boston's green building guidelines, including improved insulation, energyefficient windows, and rooftop solar panels.
Additionally, the exterior will be restored while
many existing building features inside will be
preserved, including the second-floor auditorium and other common spaces, to serve as
education and community spaces, including a gallery, arts studio, community rooms,
and recreational space. These public spaces
will be available to both residents and the
surrounding community, Saad says, to align
with the project's mission to bring people
together as well as to help address issues of
isolation among seniors. "It's imperative that
we as designers, developers, and community
members provide them with that platform
where they can really socialize and have a full
life," he says.
One of the biggest challenges so far has
been addressing accessibility to the building.
"It's built on a mound to look stately, so we're
trying to find a way to maintain the historic
character but insert accessible pathways,"
Saad says. Several other pieces of the project
will also be finalized as the project progresses, including the community's opening
date (which is contingent on funding from
the city and state), the full scale of programming and social services, and the community
name. "Having an LGBTQ identity is important
because this is why we're here, to make sure
such housing is available to the population
we're serving," he says.-Anne DiNardo

Due to recent developments
regarding COVID-19, Emerald,
publisher of Environments for
Aging and sister magazine
Healthcare Design, has made
changes to its 2020 event
lineup:

EFA Expo & Conference
The EFA Expo &
Conference, originally
planned for April 25-28,
2020, at the Kentucky
International Convention Center in Louisville,
Ky., has been canceled. Next year's EFA Expo
& Conference will be held April 24-27, 2021,
in Chattanooga, Tenn. "[Recent] developments have made it impossible to effectively
execute an April event that delivers the level
of education, connection, and customer
value our community expects. Driven by our
responsibility to ensure the best interests of
our senior living design community, we have
made the difficult decision to cancel EFA
Expo & Conference for 2020. We hope you
will join us for the next EFA Expo & Conference in 2021," a statement reads. Conference
updates and information can be found at
EnvironmentsforAging.com.

The WELL
Conference
The WELL Conference,
launched this year by
the International WELL
Building Institute,
American Society of Interior Designers, and
Emerald, has been rescheduled to Aug. 16-19.
The conference, originally planned for March
29-April 1, will still take place at the Fairmont
Princess in Scottsdale, Ariz. For questions
related to existing registrations, travel, hotel,
schedule, etc., please visit www.thewell
conference.com.
For current news and event updates, visit
EFAmagazine.com.
Spring 2020 * EFAmagazine.com

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Environments for Aging - Spring 2020

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