NEST unveils plans for first LGBTQ-Friendly senior housing in Cincinnati

Released February 21, 2020

Apple Street Senior will include 57 affordable units and supportive services for LGBTQ seniors

Northsiders Engaged in Sustainable Transformation (NEST), and co-developer Pennrose, announced plans at its annual meeting on Thursday night for Apple Street Senior, the first designated LGBTQ-friendly affordable housing community for seniors in Cincinnati.

“At Pennrose, we are committed to transforming communities through the development of high-quality, affordable housing,” said Lasserre Bradley, regional vice president at Pennrose. “Innovative housing solutions like Apple Street Senior respond to the growing need for safe and affordable spaces for LGBTQ seniors across the country, and we’re excited to work with NEST to bring this first-of-its-kind community to Cincinnati’s Northside neighborhood.”

Located at 4145 Apple Street in the Northside neighborhood of Cincinnati, the development will include 57 studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments for LGBTQ-friendly seniors. The three-story elevator building will offer amenities such as a fitness center, community gathering spaces and parking. The project is being designed by New Republic Architecture.

The project will include on-site supportive services provided by Council on Aging of Southwestern Ohio and Pennrose Management Company. In addition, Caracole, the Greater Cincinnati region’s nonprofit AIDS Service Organization devoted to positively changing lives in the fight against HIV/AIDS, will also provide services.

NEST purchased the property with funding from the City of Cincinnati and selected Pennrose as development partner in 2019. The project is supported by local and national organizations, including SAGE, Churches Active in Northside (CAIN) and the Imperial Sovereign Queen City Court of the Buckeye Empire Inc.

“Apple Street Senior will be an important and much-needed asset to Cincinnati’s LGBTQ community,” said Sarah Thomas, executive director at NEST. “With a robust partnership of local and national organizations, along with Pennrose’s experience developing and managing LGBTQ-friendly communities nationwide, Apple Street Senior will provide a safe and welcoming environment to a population that has often faced disproportionate housing discrimination.”

Pennrose has extensive experience developing affordable LGBTQ-friendly housing for seniors, including Haven Green, a 123-unit deeply affordable community in New York City and John C. Anderson apartments in Philadelphia. Most recently, Pennrose was selected as developer of the William Barton Rogers School redevelopment in Boston, which will transform the vacant school site into the region’s first high-quality, mixed-income LGBTQ-friendly community for seniors.

Also covered:

Cincinnati Business Courier: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2020/02/21/developer-plans-first-of-its-kind-development-for.html?iana=hpmvp_cinci_news_headline

CityBeat Cincinnati: https://www.citybeat.com/news/blog/21117584/affordable-housing-project-at-former-savealot-site-in-northside-unveiled?utm_source=featurefollow&utm_medium=home&utm_campaign=hpfeatures