HANAC Corona Senior Residence

Organization Name: think! architecture & design pllc. with HANAC Inc.

Project Title: HANAC Corona Senior Residence

Project Location: 54-25 101st St., Corona, Queens, NY

Project Goals:
- To create long-lasting and dignified housing and services for our seniors in nurturing communities that need it the most.
- To create opportunities for inter-generational interaction, to the great advantage of all involved, by co-locating senior residents with young children in the ground floor pre-school, and to encourage opportunities for mutually beneficial activities.
- To create a new model for green senior housing that incorporates advanced Passive House principals that will save up to 75% of needed energy as well as providing the maximal comfort for the senior population.
- To create a healthful environment through principles of Active Design to encourage physical activity.
- To create a work of architecture that is a "good neighbor" and contributes to the quality of the built environment and is perceived as an asset to the community.

Project Description:
The Residence comprises 68 units on 8 floors, being built on a vacant 12,000sf lot. The upper floors are designated for very low income seniors earning no more than 60% of AMI. 30% of the units are set aside for formerly homeless seniors. At the ground floor is a 5,150sf pre-school. Shared spaces include community rooms on the first and fifth floors, and exterior gardens at the ground floor rear yard and the fifth floor terrace, all designed to foster social interaction. Architecturally it is our intention to visually break down the mass of the building, and through the use of various planes, materials, colors and window patterns, to better integrate it into the existing low-rise townhouse fabric of the local neighborhood. The project is currently under construction and is anticipated to be completed in Spring 2018.

Community Impact:
We believe this new project will have tremendous impact on the local community, which is currently under-served, as well as on the lives of each resident. By providing dignified, beautiful and resilient new housing for seniors, each person will have the opportunity for social interaction within the building, the pre-school and the greater community. By locating at this site a stable senior population, aging in place, everyone benefits by continuing a tradition of diversity in our neighborhoods, and allows people to stay in the communities they are familiar with and a part of.

Organization Description:
think! architecture & design is a 20 person design collaborative based in Downtown Brooklyn, led by principals Jack Esterson, Marty Kapell and Ernesto Vela. While their practice is diversified, their current focus is in affordable and supportive housing. Their core mission is to provide to New York's communities the highest level of design quality, in the belief that the physical environment plays a great part in people's sense of well-being and participation in public life. HANAC Inc. was founded in 1972 in Astoria, Queens and is a multi-faceted social services and housing not-for-profit that serves the needs of vulnerable populations throughout NYC. HANAC currently operates 3 buildings comprising 350 units of affordable housing, and provides services to immigrants, seniors, youth and people struggling with substance abuse.

Thank you for viewing NYHC's Community Impact Gallery. Please note: NYHC does not own or manage any property. If you have any questions about a specific building, please contact the project team listed. To apply for affordable housing opportunities, see housingconnect.nyc.gov or hcr.ny.gov/find-affordable-housing

    Building facade at 101st Street

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