PGN got an exclusive hard-hat tour this week of the LGBT-friendly senior residences, expected to open early next year.
The steel frame of the John C. Anderson Apartments, at 249-257 S. 13th St., is completed, and the brick exterior is largely laid on Camac Street and the alley that borders the southern wall of the facility. The brick is expected to be completed by the end of the month, and workers will then turn their attention to the rest of the façade over the next few months.
Interiorly, nearly all drywall in hallways and apartments are installed and most floors finished, except for some areas of the top floor.
Heating and air-conditioning units have been installed, as have most windows.
The building will be home to 56 one-bedroom affordable apartments for seniors. The units are laid out slightly different, depending on position on the floor, but each floor is designed the same. Each level will be painted a different color.
The two elevator shafts have been constructed. The elevators will open onto spacious lobbies on each floor. The foundation for a roof deck has also been installed on the fourth floor.
On the ground floor, residents and visitors will enter the building into a large lobby area and, to the left, there will be 1,700 square feet of commercial space, which has not yet been rented.
On the southeastern side of the first floor, beams are in place to support a wall of windows that looks out onto the 5,000-square-foot courtyard, across from which will be a glass-enclosed community room. That space will be available for use by community organizations.
“We really want to make this community-oriented,” said Mark Segal, PGN publisher and president of the Dr. Magnus Hirschfield Fund, which spearheaded the project with Pennrose Properties.
Landscaping of the courtyard will be one of the final components. The eastern wall has been resurfaced and will be bordered by a fountain.
Domus is leading the construction, with up to 200 construction workers on the site on some days.
Segal said that while the project has moved quickly, with construction starting in November, it has adhered to state-of-the-art construction techniques.
“We are using the most modern concepts,” Segal said. “We want to be completely contemporary.”
A rental office will open late next month at William Way LGBT Community Center for prospective residents.