Executives and owners of businesses in the architecture, engineering and construction community joined members of Envision Unlimited's executive team on April 11, to break ground on an ADA-compliant group home in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood for seniors with disabilities. To date, the businesses have donated goods and services valued at more than a half-million dollars for this construction project—a first for a project of this scale.
The home fulfills a long-held dream for Envision. Its construction will enable seniors who are currently living in one of our group homes to age in place rather than move to a nursing home.
Florida resident Andreas Mueller donated the residential corner lot in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood to Envision in 2018. But building an accessible group home exceeds $1 million, so cost had been a stumbling block until Susan Turner, a senior technical architect at JLK Architects, learned about the land donation and offered to draw plans for the home. She then recruited local companies to donate materials and services, significantly reducing Envision's construction expenses.
“We are overwhelmed by the generosity of these industry leaders, who almost instantly said yes, when asked to help us fulfill this dream of ours,” said Envision Unlimited President and CEO Mark McHugh, noting that Envision supporters have also donated or pledged more than $326,000 to the project, to date.
Companies’ donations include architectural, engineering, interior, civil, electrical, landscaping, environment design and general contracting services; bricks, bricklaying, roofing, windows and doors, lighting, plumbing fixtures, tile, granite countertops; heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. Most of the donated materials include installation labor.
I was thrilled to volunteer something for which I was uniquely qualified: providing the preliminary design!” said Ms. Turner. “I shared my vision with Johnson Lasky Kindelin, and they became the architect of record.”
Construction begins in May. The first residents are scheduled to move in by December.
For more details on the project, visit https://ada4envision.org.