Neurodivergent individuals comprise between 15 and 20 percent of the U.S. population, according to the American Enterprise Institute. Yet, some estimates say that up to 40 percent of this population faces unemployment, partly because there is a significant shortage of supportive housing for those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), specific learning disorders (LD), and other diagnoses. This is why a new, first-of-its-kind neuroinclusive apartment building currently under construction in Red Bank, NJ, is such an exciting development.
THRIVE Red Bank is a 34,000-square-foot residential building with 32 one-bedroom apartments spread across three floors. The project is designed to encourage independent living, while offering supportive services and amenities.
How did the project come about? It started in 2017, when Karen Fluharty founded the not-for-profit Parents With A Plan, which has a goal to “develop a model community for adults with autism and other related developmental disorders.”
Fluharty is the single mother of her neurodivergent, 23-year-old son Ryan. As she explains on Parents With A Plan’s website, when Ryan was 15, she became aware that many special needs individuals tend to fall off what’s known as “the cliff” at age 21, due to a lack of support.
“Failing to plan for Ryan’s future was not an option, and that led to where we are today,” Fluharty said in a press release. “It’s not too much for my son to be happy, to be safe, to be as independent as he can be. And this supportive housing innovation will help create data-based outcomes to help change policy.”
During the pandemic, Parents With A Plan partnered with developers to bring THRIVE Red Bank to life.
“This has been a serious, four-year journey to understand the needs of the neurodiverse, and the need is so great in this part of the country,” real estate developer John Klein, managing partner of THRIVE Red Bank, tells 6sqft.
To this point, 1 in 34 individuals currently living in New Jersey are diagnosed with Autism.
“Our recent research supports the significant need in NJ with over 200,000 individuals on the spectrum, enough to fill Met Life Stadium twice,” Klein continues.
“Over 38 percent of these individuals are living with a caregiver over 60. There is just so much demand.”
Klein, Fluharty, and their teams worked to identify Red Bank as a perfect spot for the development. About an hour’s drive from New York City, the town is friendly, walkable, and home to other supportive programs such as Lunch Break and the Parker Family Health Center, as well as cultural hubs like the Count Basie Center for the Arts and the YMCA.
“With the fact that there are over 100 places for retail jobs for our residents, we really felt that Red Bank provided that inclusive, connected community that our young adults, who don’t drive, will be able to access and be a meaningful part of the community, through volunteering, through jobs, through all of the amazing contributions they can make,” shares Fluharty.
As for the building itself, CPA Architecture designed the project with purpose-built features, such as floor drains, motion-activated stove sensors, low-wattage lighting, and more.
The entire first floor is devoted to amenity spaces, including a teaching kitchen, event space, sensory space, health and wellness areas, workout spaces, and socialization areas.
Perhaps most impressively, the project includes a public/private partnership with the Rutgers Center for Adult Autism Services (RCAAS), whose trained clinical staff will assist residents, while university students of all disciplines will provide hands-on training.
Klein adds, “Organizations and individuals from the greater Red Bank community would be involved in the activation of the common spaces with daily programming.”
The start-up capital for THRIVE Red Bank came from both private investors and social impact funds. “This private pay model will allow us to mobilize more quickly, focus on best practices and innovate,” explains Klein. “Over time, we expect our data-based life span outcomes will foster new ways to meet the financial needs of a larger audience.”
The groundbreaking ceremony for THRIVE Red Bank took place on July 30, and the building is expected to welcome residents in early 2027.
But already, “the response has been both overwhelming and humbling,” says Fluharty. “We received nearly 400 emails with various questions, inquiries, and more over a 10-day period.”
Those interested in THRIVE Red Bank can fill out an application form online. Once submitted, the process takes approximately 12 months and includes a clinical assessment and an RCAAS admissions team review.
As time goes on, Klein says he hopes that THRIVE Red Bank “will be a roadmap for scalable neuroinclusive housing solutions that will in time become a new real estate asset class in New Jersey and around the United States.”
“It’s easy to forget that decades ago, assisted living and 55+ communities didn’t exist for our seniors. Serving the neurodiverse community offers the same opportunity to create community and expand that community ethos,” Klein adds.
Fluharty shares similar wishes for the future: “We hope that our contribution to creating this type of supportive housing that is truly integrated into a welcoming community will not only give our residents a place to call home, but a community that embraces them. We all just want them to have a happy, robust life surrounded by people who care about them.”
RELATED:
Source link
