Senior housing project meets tough state health standards and earns LEED Gold

Long Pond Senior Housing, a building that combined the New York State Homes and Community Renewal (NYSHCR) 9% tax credit program and the Department of Health’s (DOH) licensed Enriched Housing Program for frail seniors was the first of its kind in New York State. 

The project, which achieved LEED Gold certification, was designed to comply with the Governor’s Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT), a program intended to achieve measurable improvement in health outcomes, sustainable cost control, and a more efficient administrative structure. The project reduced wood waste by using panelized off-site construction. 

The Rochester, N.Y.-area project averaged a Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Score of 51, roughly a 49% energy reduction compared to a home built to code. High efficiency central hot water boilers, furnaces and air conditioning; advanced air sealing strategies; energy efficient lighting and appliances; and upgraded insulation resulted in high-energy performance.

The building team had to use NYSHCR’s design standards and fit 54 units into 53,000 sf within a per-square-foot budget, and convert 25% of the building’s space into a shared common area, constrained by living and dining space minimums.