Happy Affordable Housing Month!
May is Affordable Housing Month, highlighting the urgent need for affordable housing in the United States. According to Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies research released in January, the number of renter households classified as severely rent burdened rose to an all-time high in 2022, with 12.1 million households spending more than half of their income on housing.
As the demand for affordable housing continues to climb, we are humbled to continue to join our project partners to contribute impactful, award-winning affordable housing to communities across the country. This May, as we celebrate Affordable Housing Month, we will be highlighting some memorable affordable communities for which we’ve been honored to provide architecture, engineering, planning, or interior design services.
We begin our series with Weinberg Commons in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, one of many successful partnerships between Thriven Design and real estate developer Pennrose. Weinberg Commons provides much-needed affordable housing for older adults (55+) and individuals with special needs in collaboration with the Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey and Our Family of Agencies. Out of a total of 160 units, 32 of those units are designated for adults with developmental disabilities and are grouped into congregate living cottages with shared common space for access to supportive services. The remaining units provide older adults in the area a high-quality housing option where they can age in place. Weinberg Commons has been recognized with multiple awards, including an Innovator Award by the Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH, the Source for Housing Solutions) and 2020 Project of the Year by the Supportive Housing Association of New Jersey. View our portfolio to learn more about Weinberg Commons.
Next, we highlight Herndon Square, a multi-use, multiphase development that will add more than 350 units of affordable and senior housing to Atlanta, Georgia, as well as townhomes and a grocery store. Thriven Design led the master planning effort in collaboration with Atlanta Housing and now is driving forward the architectural and engineering design beginning with Phase II. The second phase of Herndon Square features a mix of market-rate and affordable housing LIHTC units supported by Project-Based Vouchers through Atlanta Housing’s Homeflex Program. It is an honor to partner with real estate developer Pennrose to serve others and create places where people thrive.
View our portfolio to learn more about Herndon Square.
As we celebrate impactful, affordable communities this May during Affordable Housing Month, we are honored to share about our partnership with Conifer Realty and MEND, Inc., two dedicated project partners who continually address the urgent need for affordable housing in the United States.
Medford Senior Residence was a joint venture between the Moorestown Ecumenical Neighborhood Development (MEND) and Conifer Realty to provide 36 one- and two-bedroom affordable apartments for seniors in the heart of Medford Township, New Jersey. The project was intentionally designed to fit in with the neighboring historic district and give seniors in the area the ability to remain in their own community while receiving the essential benefits of an environment optimized to the needs of older adults. The design of Medford Senior Residence incorporated supportive infrastructure such as a wireless emergency call system as well as a variety of sustainable features such as photovoltaic panels to generate electricity. The community has received national recognition and was a senior community Finalist for the Readers’ Choice Awards by Affordable Housing Finance.
View our portfolio to learn more about Medford Senior Residence.
Thriven Design partnered with the People for People Foundation and Conifer Realty on their joint venture, Camp Salute, which provides a welcoming home for veterans and families.
Camp Salute offers 76 units of permanent housing and is the first community of its kind in southern New Jersey to provide housing for veterans, their families, as well as surviving spouses of veterans. The residents have access to a community clubhouse which includes a community room, laundry center, business center, and on-site supportive workshops and groups coordinated by People for People. The clubhouse is also home to People for People’s offices and its Veteran Resource Center, which provides services not only to the resident veterans but veterans throughout South Jersey. Camp Salute has won multiple awards including the NJ Governor’s Excellence in Housing and Economic Development Award for Leading Supportive Housing Development and Supportive Housing Association of New Jersey’s Project of the Year Award in 2019.
View our portfolio to learn more about Camp Salute.
As we celebrate impactful affordable communities making a difference throughout the month, next we are honored to share about our partnership with Philadelphia-based nonprofit Project HOME on Ruth Williams House.
Ruth Williams House is one of many Project HOME residences offering permanent, affordable housing and supportive services to men and women who are homeless, formerly homeless, or at risk of becoming homeless. The five-story residence provides 88 units of affordable housing as well as over 2,000 square feet of retail space just blocks from Temple University in a transit-oriented area. It was designed with sustainability in mind, achieving LEED Silver certification and meeting Enterprise Green Communities criteria and ENERGY STAR Multifamily High Rise requirements. By creating a development that is highly sustainable, Project HOME can more readily serve the city’s most vulnerable residents with safe and efficient housing for years to come.
View our portfolio to learn more about Ruth Williams House.
Thriven Design has a long, valued relationship with The Alpert Group that has included many projects including Harvard Printing Company, located within a designated Smart Growth area bordering both the City of Orange and West Orange in New Jersey.
As part of the City of Orange’s Central Valley Redevelopment Plan, The Harvard Printing Company is a transit-oriented development which consisted of two phases, each with a mid-rise apartment building for a total of over 220 units. The first phase also included the adaptive reuse of a historically significant factory into a parking garage. There is a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedrooms throughout with green design features such as Energy Star appliances, high performance windows, high efficiency lights, and water conserving fixtures. The development is strategically located near several NJ Transit lines including the Highland Avenue Station for easy access to the New York City metro area.
View our portfolio to learn more about The Harvard Printing Company.
As we wrap up our celebration of Affordable Housing Month we highlight The Apartments at New Market West.
The Apartments at New Market West is a five-story apartment building located within a mixed-use, transit-oriented development in West Philadelphia. The vision for this new neighborhood hub emerged from the goal to revitalize a section of Philadelphia that was marked by economic distress and in need of affordable workforce housing. Thriven Design worked closely with Mission First Housing Group from planning and conceptual design through construction administration to deliver both a state-of-the-art commercial facility named New Market West and the accompanying apartments. The apartments combine 41 units of rental housing with various community amenities including a multipurpose room with a kitchen.
Learn more about The Apartments at New Market West in our portfolio.
Designing high-quality affordable multifamily housing has been at the core of Thriven Design’s mission since its founding in 1971. Our skilled team of professionals has extensive experience in affordable multifamily design, supporting affordable multifamily project partners, and navigating the funding programs associated with projects of this type. To view additional projects in our affordable multifamily portfolio, please click here.
