Norwood Terrace

Organization Name: Concern for Independent Living, Inc.

Project Title: Norwood Terrace

Project Location: 3349 Webster Avenue, Bronx (Norwood)

Project Description:
In 2016, Concern for Independent Living opened the first single site Medicaid Redesign (MRT) mixed use supportive housing program in The Bronx (Norwood Terrace), a 115-unit supportive SRO for high cost Medicaid users living alongside affordable households. A pilot program under Medicaid redesign, this pioneering program offers fully furnished studio apartments to chronically homeless adults with the highest healthcare expenses under the working philosophy that “Housing is Healthcare”, that by offering someone a safe and beautiful place to live with limited on site supports, their healthcare outcomes would improve and costs would go down. Norwood Terrace integrates supportive apartments with 56 1-, 2-, and 3-bedroom apartments for households at or below 50% and 60% AMI. An additional unit is for a live-in superintendent. Building amenities include a community room, exercise room, children’s library, computer room, rooftop terrace, and laundry facilities. Staff provides comprehensive, person-centered, and recovery-oriented support services. Our goal is to provide individuals and families with the means to live with dignity and to become functioning members of the community.

Community Impact:
Norwood Terrace represented the first time in NY that a single site supportive housing program integrated 100% of their supportive tenants from a high utilizer pool into one building, alongside affordable households. Fifty-eight individuals with healthcare expenditures in the upper deciles (over $45,000 Medicaid expense in 11 months or over $85,000 in 13 months) were transitioned from chronic homelessness into a permanent supportive housing setting with on-site case management. Staff worked with mobile integration teams to link tenants to local outpatient supports and provide ongoing care coordination. With the right complement of services, Concern made a marked difference in tenant use of crisis services within the first year of occupancy, cutting medical and psychiatric ER visits and inpatient mental health care expenses in half. A cost analysis prepared by DOH showed an average costs savings of $12,471 per tenant based on Medicaid claims data in the first year of operation alone. In addition, the shared residency between supportive and affordable households (including 53 children) has served to demonstrate that fully integrated residential buildings are the hallmark of community.

Organization Description:
Concern for Independent Living’s mission is to provide housing and services that enrich lives and strengthen communities by developing high quality housing together with the provision of services that help people thrive. Concern is the largest non-profit provider of housing for individuals and families with psychiatric disabilities on Long Island and a leading housing developer and operator in NYC. We currently provide housing in over 250 locations across Suffolk, Nassau, Brooklyn and the Bronx, serving over 1,500 adults and 250 children.

Team Members:

Concern for Independent Living, Inc. – Co-Developer, Supportive Services Provider, Property Manager
B&B Supportive LLC – Co-Developer
MHG Architects – Project Architect
HLS Builders Corp. – GC

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