The Architectural Team designs four senior/assisted living projects

Ludlow, MA The Architectural Team (TAT) has designed four new senior and assisted living projects. 

From groundbreaking approaches to affordable care in Indiana, to adaptive reuse in New England mill towns, community centric planning outside Boston, and luxury hospitality influenced properties near Philadelphia, the new projects offer lifestyle alternatives and community benefits, across a range of income levels. 

“For retirees looking to downsize or those challenged with living independently at home, the latest ideas in senior living and care represent an exciting new paradigm,” said Phil Renzi, senior project manager at TAT. 

“Mirroring larger trends in the multifamily residential world, these four projects demonstrate that it’s possible to enhance design quality and affordability, reverse the trend of isolated city-edge locations, and preserve historic buildings while encouraging economic development.” 

Evergreen Village at Bloomington, in Bloomington, IN.; The Residences at Melrose Station in Melrose, MA.; The Residences at Mill 10 in Ludlow, MA,; and Residences at Chadds Ford in Chadds Ford, PA.

• Evergreen Village at Bloomington — Bloomington, Indiana
Located on a 6.2-acre site, this new 115-unit assisted-living community offers a full spectrum of services and a unique approach to affordability. Utilizing  a combination of specific state subsidies, tax-exempt bonds, and Low Income Housing Tax Credits, the project serves an emerging demographic of moderate-income, Medicaid-eligible seniors who earn less than 60% of the area’s median income (AMI). Offering a new national model, this Residential Care Facility (RCF) fills an important affordability “gap” in current market offerings for those who can’t afford market-rate options, but also do not qualify for traditional affordable housing. TAT’s design solution includes a mix of studio and one-bedroom homes and a broad array of amenity spaces that encourage resident socialization and wellness. Residents can also enjoy easy access to nearby shopping, restaurants, healthcare services and bike paths. Demonstrating the high level of market demand, an estimated 1,600 individuals qualify to live at Evergreen Village at Bloomington, the only such affordable RCF within a 50-mile radius. 

• Residences at Mill 10 — Ludlow, Massachusetts
Originally built in 1907, the 108,000 s/f Ludlow Mill 10 was originally part of the larger Ludlow Mills industrial complex, home to one of the world’s largest producers of jute cloth, rope and twine. TAT’s renovation and adaptive reuse creates 75 modern, mixed-income apartments for seniors, while also helping to strengthen the local economy. As part of a larger mixed-use redevelopment complex, tenants of the Residences at Mill 10 enjoy access to the adjacent reestablished Riverwalk on the Chicopee River, and co-location with commercial and retail uses including small manufacturing and design businesses, a microbrewery, as well as a rehabilitation hospital. With 90% of residents drawn from Ludlow and the surrounding area, the project offers a compelling case study of how agencies and development teams can strategically employ preservation and adaptive reuse to help keep aging residents within their communities, contributing to continued positive economic impact. 

• The Residences at Melrose Station — Melrose, Massachusetts
Located adjacent to an active retail corridor in the heart of downtown Melrose, this 80,000 s/f, 90-unit property exemplifies an ideal urban-situated assisted living and memory care facility and sets a new standard for how design and development teams can collaborate with city officials for community benefit. Working closely with with municipal leaders, TAT created an entirely new Central Building District zoning overlay (CBD), allowing for the community’s construction in the CBD, facilitating infrastructural improvements that benefit the entire city, and laying out a vision for the City’s long-term growth as part of a master plan. This collaboration helped Melrose receive state funding for new sidewalks, streetlights, and other improvements. TAT’s design solution also emphasizes elements that encourage resident engagement and benefit the city as a whole. Outside, a new pocket park forms an intergenerational public space, where seniors and City residents can interact -- providing physical, social, and psychological benefits for the entire community.

 • The Residence at Chadds Ford — Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania 
On track to open in spring 2019, this 92,000 s/f community offers 84 independent, assisted and memory care living apartments for local seniors. Designed with a material palette including high-end woods, tile, and custom light fixtures, along with range of amenities common to high-end condominium or boutique hospitality properties, TAT’s approach sets a new standard for the level of programming and finishes in a full-continuum-of-care facility. The independent living unit mix includes studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom homes, each with its own kitchenette. The project also offers a common corridor kitchen for gatherings, and theater, recreation and athletic facilities. A dedicated memory care wing is designed to the same high level of fit and finish, offering its own common areas, walking courtyard, and other amenities, with programming developed in collaboration with the Harvard Medical School, McLean Hospital and Brigham & Women’s Hospital.

“As many states see their over-60 populations overtake the number of under-20 residents,” said TAT’s Renzi, “thoughtful architectural and planning solutions will only become more important.”