DesignPoint Redesigns Interiors for Senior Living High Rise

The Allentown Housing Authority (AHA) sought DesignPoint’s expertise in giving a new look to one of its most prominent buildings. The mission of AHA is to provide a safe, decent and affordable housing for low-income families, senior citizens and disabled residents of the Allentown region.

AHA’s largest and most notable building is the eight story John T. Gross Towers that is home to 147 apartments. Opened in 1967, Gross Towers offers affordable, safe and secure housing for low-income senior citizens and people with disabilities in the Allentown area. The building offers efficiencies, one- and two-bedroom apartments to accommodate resident lifestyles and stages of life.

Being that the building was almost 50 years old, it needed a major interior design overhaul. Management of AHA recognized that all of their senior living buildings were dated and needed interior remodeling to appeal to new residents and to maintain resident pride in the community. The interior renovations at Gross Towers also served as the model for more renovations to come for AHA’s four other senior high-rise communities. Each community is designated for residents age 62 or older or disabled individuals of any age (federal law designates physically disabled as “elderly” for the purposes of placing applicants in public housing).

DesignPoint’s task also included making it feel less institutional and more home-like. Les McCoy, President of DesignPoint said the areas of focus were the first floor common areas consisting primarily of community room upgrades, new toilet rooms and creating an attractive resident mail area, an important daily activity in senior living. All the areas used by residents on the first floor including the main lobby received new flooring, finish upgrades, new ceiling designs and lighting replacement taking it from a harsh fluorescent to a modern architectural and decorative LED lighting combination.

Overseeing the larger renovations to the Gross Towers community is the Allentown engineering firm of Barry Isett and Associates. www.barryisett.com

DesignPoint is located in the Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and works extensively on both a regional and national levels. DesignPoint, Inc. is a full service Interior Design & Purchasing Firm with a focus on corporate, hospitality, senior living, medical offices and high-end residential interiors. When considering new interior construction or renovations, DesignPoint will provide complete interior architectural space planning, construction documents, and furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E) procurement services to make it a successful project. DesignPoint can be reached at 610-807-9670 or online at design@designpoint-interiors.com.