HOUSTON – (By Dale King, Realty News Report) – A Houston-based nonprofit serving adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities has launched a $1.4 million initiative to build one house to serve six residents and a duplex to house up to six additional people.
Funds raised through Vita Living’s initiative will support construction of the two residential buildings.
The announcement came in a news release from Vita Living, the nonprofit human services agency that provides life-changing support to people with disabilities impacting their ability to live on their own.
Longtime Vita Living Board of Directors Chair and Architectural Floors Principal, Chris Mehling, will lead the effort as campaign chair.
“The ‘Vita Living Housing Initiative: Serve More, Better” supports our goal of being the premier service provider for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Houston,” said Mehling.
“Working with the innovative team at Tramonte Design Studio, the new residential housing will further accommodate the disabilities and medical needs of our aging residents.”
The new homes will be located on a Spring Branch property owned by Vita Living. A landscaped community area will be constructed between the house and the duplex.
Construction will launch in May 2020. The project is expected to be complete in December 2020, with residents moving into their new homes early in 2021.
In designing the spaces, said Mehling, Houston-based Tramonte Design Studio was inspired by Vita Living’s mission, rooted in service to the community.
The six-resident home and the duplex, measuring at 2,400 SF and 2,850 SF respectively, will use spacious, open floorplans, light and bright color schemes and a communal greenspace to invoke a sense of community.
“As people with disabilities live longer, healthier lives, the need for residential housing will continue to increase,” said Joseph Cooper, Vita Living CEO. “The ‘Vita Living Housing Initiative: Serve More, Better’ is a direct response to the need for community-based housing and the increasing medical needs of this aging population.”
“Without services such as ours, our residents would face a reality of homelessness, incarceration or institutionalization,” he added. “Construction of Vita Living’s two new homes will allow us to expand our reach and continue to provide support for this underserved community.”
Key design elements for the six-resident home and the duplex include:
-
Meeting Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance and City of Houston commercial codes;
-
Unobstructed views between the common areas, allowing caretakers ease in monitoring multiple residents simultaneously;
-
Spacious common living areas and kitchens, which will serve as gathering places;
-
5-foot x 5-foot roll-in showers with recessed concrete slabs that comfortably accommodate residents while providing ease of use for the caretakers; and
-
A landscaped community area in-between the buildings, creating a synergetic sense of community among the 12 residents.
Since 1983, Vita Living has provided services and support to adults living with restrictive disabilities, thus, promoting their personal growth toward a safe, satisfying, and meaningful life within the community. In addition to their residential element, Vita Living also operates a day program and case management.
Currently, Vita Living owns and operates 18 group homes for 74 adults in Houston’s Spring Branch and Sharpstown neighborhoods.
Today, Vita Living serves more than 400 children and adults with disabilities through residential services, day program operations, and case management. Overall, Vita Living operates 18 group homes in Houston and reaches seven Texas counties with the CLASS (Community Living Assistance and Support Services) program.
Dec. 14, 2019 Realty News Report Copyright 2019
Read The New Book by Ralph Bivins, Editor of Realty News Report
Houston 2020: America’s Boom Town – An Extreme Close Up
Available on Amazon http://tiny.cc/4a2g6y
