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18Hartford News Special Edition Hartford Progress: An Update on One City, One Plan June, 2012A New Concept: Affordable, Veteran-Focused Assisted LivingCommunity Renewal Team (CRT) is teamingup with the Veterans Administration tocreate a new model of affordable assistedliving for senior and disabled veterans andtheir spouses. Veterans Landing inNewington will be the first of its kind in NewEngland and one of the first nationwide tofocus solely on the needs of veterans. With103 studio and one-bedroom apartments,this groundbreaking program will help lowandmoderate-income veterans maintaincomfortable independence for as long aspossible, while helping to ease the burden onthe overtaxed veteran health care system.Connecticut’s veterans are rapidly aging:Nearly 75% of the 222,632 veterans living inConnecticut are older than 55, and morethan half are 65 or older. A significant numberare living on modest fixed incomes, andlack the means to cover private assisted living– which may be as high as $8,000 permonth.Veterans Landing has been designed bythe same team – from architect to administrativedirector – responsible for The Retreat,CRT’s award-winning assisted living residenceat 90 Retreat Avenue in Hartford. Asthe first urban-built, affordable assisted livingfacility in Connecticut, The Retreat waspart of a state pilot initiative that sought todetermine whether assisted living servicescould successfully be provided to very lowincome, Medicaid-eligible elderly/disabledindividuals. The Retreat uses an exceptionallyrobust model of activities and partnershipsto ensure that the elderly residents are enjoyingfulfilling lives while contributing in ameaningful way to their community.CRT has also developed considerableknowledge of the issues facing low-incomeand at-risk veterans, through several otherprograms. Veterans Crossing is CRT’s transitionalrooming house in East Hartford, wherehomeless veterans receive intensive casemanagement and assistance with employment,medical or mental health issues, reestablishties with their families, and movetoward stable housing. CRT is also the onlyConnecticut agency offering SupportiveServices for Veteran Families, helping verylow income veterans avoid homelessness oracquire more affordable housing after beingevicted.Based upon this experience, CRT and itsaffiliate, The Meadows Real EstateCorporation, were chosen as the preferreddevelopers and operators of the new assistedliving residence, to be built on the campusof the VA Connecticut Health Care System inNewington. Activities, medical and socialservices will be offered within the building,but vets will also be connected with themany services offered elsewhere on the campus.Unlike any existing facility in the nation,Veterans Landing will offer comprehensiveassisted living for veterans in a dedicatedhome – not an area within a larger hospitalor nursing home. Focused on the uniqueneeds of veterans, it will blend medical care,help with daily living, and extensive social,recreational and emotional supports.Veterans Landing will include 95 one-bedroomand eight studio apartments. Each unitwill have a kitchenette, handicapped-accessiblebathroom, and living room. In additionto housing with 24-hour access to medicalcare, residents will receive assistance withactivities of daily living (personal hygiene,housekeeping and transportation), and anoutstanding array of recreational and socialactivities that encourage personal growthand community involvement.THE CHALLENGES AHEADTwo financing challenges face the project:Building the structure (at a cost of approximately$ 30 million) and keeping the monthto-monthcosts affordable for residents. To dothis, CRT is expanding on existing partnershipswith Connecticut state agencies,including the Department of Social Services,the Housing Finance Authority, and theDepartment of Economic and CommunityDevelopment. The agency has successfullyused federal low-income housing tax credits(LIHTCs) and HUD 202 Program funding forconstruction of other projects. HUD also providesVASH vouchers (Veterans AffairsSupportive Housing) to help individual vetsoffset their housing costs. CRT continues tocultivate relationships with private fundingsources, including financial institutions andfoundations.In the end, the primary goal of VeteransLanding is to provide a residential communitywhere low- and moderate-income veteranscan maintain or even improve their medicaland mental health, and enjoy their senioryears among their peers. CRT is seeking partnersand investors to move the project forward,for the sake of those who have givenso much for their country.For information about Veterans Landing,please contact Gus Keach-Longo, CRT’sDirector of Senior Services, at (860) 560-5632.
June, 2012 Hartford Progress: An Update on One City, One Plan Hartford News Special Edition19Wadsworth Atheneum Receives $2 Millionfrom Connecticut State Bond CommissionMuseum Launches Phase II ofComprehensive Renovation ProjectSlated for Completion in 2014The Wadsworth AtheneumMuseum of Art recently announcedthat it has received a $2 milliongrant from the Connecticut StateBond Commission and an additional$2.5 million in support from anumber of foundations and individuals,enabling the museum tolaunch Phase II of a comprehensiverenovation project across all five ofthe museum’s historic buildings.When completed in 2014, the renovationwill result in the addition of8,000 square feet of reclaimedgallery space, a 14% increase, andthe complete reinstallation of themuseum's permanent collection.The renovation will also bring significantimprovements for visitors,including improved wayfinding,new interior and exterior signage,bi-lingual signage, and space forcommissioned art on the exterior ofthe museum.“I would like to thank GovernorDannel P. Malloy, our StateLegislators, and Hartford MayorPedro E. Segarra for helping usrealize our goal to make the museummore accessible, welcoming,and engaging to our constituentshere in Connecticut, as well as tonational and international audiences,”said Susan L. Talbott,Director and CEO, WadsworthAtheneum Museum of Art. “We arehonored that the State ofConnecticut and a range of privateand foundational donors have madethis tremendous investment in thefuture of our institution, and we arededicated to finding new ways toengage our community with themuseum’s renowned collectionsand historic facilities.”Phase II of the ongoing renovationproject includes renovations,improvements and energy conservationmeasures that will impactapproximately 70,000 square feetof space, which contain 54 galleriesand 20 public spaces. These renovationswill enhance and improvethe visitor experience, enabling thereopening of long-closed galleryspaces and the reinstallation of themuseum’s entire permanent collection.The refurbishment andreopening of existing gallery spacewill greatly increase the amount ofboth artworks on view and spaceavailable for community-focusedprograms.“The museum will remain opento visitors as the renovation takesplace,” Talbott continued. “Gal -leries will reopen as they are completed,providing greater access toour world-class collections andenabling the museum to continueserving the public through our exhibitionand public programs.”In addition, this phase will alsoinclude the museum’s CollectionStorage renovation, which consistsof renovations to the basement ofthe museum’s Morgan Memorialbuilding to create new storagespaces for its furniture, metalwork,ceramics, glass, and sculpture collections.The new facility will alsomaximize storage efficiency andcreate workspaces for staff andscholars.The museum has secured over$2.5 million to support theCollection Storage Renovationproject, including two anonymousgifts totaling $1.9 million, $325,000from the National Endowment forthe Humanities, $132,500 from theInstitute of Museum and LibraryServices, and $50,000 from theAmelia Peabody CharitableFoundation.In 2011, the museum’s iconicThe Wadsworth Atheneum has been a presence on Main Street in Downtown Hartford since 1844. It is the oldestpublic art museum in the nation. The Atheneum is embarking on Phase II of an overall renovation. When completedin 2014, the renovation will result in the addition of 8,000 square feet of reclaimed gallery space.Morgan Great Hall reopened,marking the completion of the firstphase of the renovation. The completerenovation of Morgan GreatHall, one of the museum's mostprominent galleries, included theinstallation of ten new clerestorywindows to manage the levels ofnatural light.The space has now been reinstalledfor the first time with largescaleworks from the museum'sContemporary art collection byartists such as Willem de Kooning,Helen Frankenthaler, RobertRauschenberg, Sean Scully, andFrank Stella.Other components of Phase Iincluded the refurbishment of themuseum’s front entrance on MainStreet; waterproofing of the façadeand roof on the Morgan, Avery andGoodwin buildings; below gradewaterproofing of the Morgan buildingbasement and the north side ofthe Wadsworth building; updates tothe HVAC system, enabling significantenergy savings; and the establishmentof two green roof areas.The Wadsworth Atheneum Muse -um of Art is located at 600 MainStreet in Hartford, Connecticut. Themuseum is open Wednesdays toFridays, 11 am – 5 pm andSaturdays and Sundays, 10 am – 5pm, and the first Thursday of everymonth 11 am – 8 pm. Please visitwww.wadsworthatheneum.org formore information.
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