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The $25 million project grew out of LGBT seniors in Chicago repeatedly saying that their greatest need was for safe and affordable housing. In 2016, 63 percent of the residents in Town Hall

Apartments were below the poverty line. Eight out of 10 have an annual income of less than $15,000, and 9 percent report having been homeless at some point in their lives. Government

subsidies mean that a resident's rent amounts to no more than 30 percent of his or her income. From the start, co-owners Heartland Housing, an affordable housing developer, and Center

on Halsted, the largest LGBT community center in the Midwest, had residents-to-be and members of the community provide input about the design, layout of units and needed services. One

request was that the property manager be sensitive to transgender residents. Others sought ample indoor and outdoor common space to foster a sense of community. All of those wishes were

granted. Today, residents gather on a sprawling, second-floor rooftop terrace or indoors in what's called The Rainbow Room. The building also has a fitness and computer area. As of the

fall of 2016, 60 percent of Town Hall residents identified as LGBT and 40 percent as heterosexual. Sixty-five percent are male, 32 percent female and 3 percent are transgender. Twenty

percent of Town Hall residents are HIV-positive and 41 percent report a physical disability. Former nurse Carla Harrigan pays just $374 a month for her studio apartment with floor-to-ceiling

windows. "An apartment like this would cost $900 a month without utilities elsewhere in this neighborhood," she says. Married briefly, Harrigan previously lived in Iowa. "It

was a very small town. I didn't feel comfortable coming out. I had a son and nobody questioned me," she recalls. "Here, there's a sense of camaraderie. We have all lived

through the difficult times of being gay or bi or trans, and now that we're seniors, we look out for one another." Resident Glenn Charlton, a former social worker, loves feeling

socially engaged. "I lost many friends to AIDS," says Charlton. "Town Hall has increased my connectedness to the LGBT community, extending my circle of friends." Britta

Larson, director of senior services at Center on Halsted, adds, "Town Hall is meeting its mission and more! We're building community among LGBTQ individuals and allies, many of

whom are facing challenges exacerbated by their identity, such as isolation. It's our hope that Town Hall will serve as a model for other projects around the country." JOHN C.

ANDERSON APARTMENTS, PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA The John C. Anderson Apartments is an LGBT-friendly apartment community for people age 62 and older. Photo courtesy John C. Anderson

Apartments "When you walk in the front door, you have a _wow_ experience," says Mark Segal, a gay activist who envisioned and helped develop the John C. Anderson Apartments. From

the time the sleek, subsidized $19.5 million building opened in 2014, in what is referred to as Philly's "Gayborhood," its 6,000-square-foot courtyard garden has been an

attractive location. The space became even more stunning when, early on, residents asked if they could take over the garden — and then replaced the landscaper and won prestigious gardening

awards. "What makes the garden extraordinary is that it's a reflection of the people who live here, as well as of the people who administer this building and support us," says

Elizabeth Coffey Williams, who is transgender and one of the self-dubbed "Garden Gang."  The garden and an adjacent community room are used by the building's residents (all

of whom are age 62 or older), as well as by people from the area for fundraisers and meetings. A coffee shop leases retail space at the front of the building. Because Segal had no

development experience, his company, DMH Fund, joined forces with Penrose Partners, a local affordable housing developer, to demolish an old building and construct the 67 one-bedroom

apartments. The project received $2 million in grants from the city, $6 million from the state and $11.5 million in low-income housing tax credits. There was no private funding. While the

developers are proud of the building's ceramic tiled baths, wall-to-wall carpeting and open floor plans in its sun-filled units, what makes the building particularly special was that

members of the community were active participants throughout the design and construction phases. In 2015, the American Institute of Architects included the John C. Anderson Apartments as one

of the "10 Most Impressive Houses" of 2015. Said the AIA: "The John C. Anderson Apartments is the first 'LGBT friendly' affordable senior housing project to be

developed in the eastern United States with such direct community involvement. Its realization has been the source of great community pride." Ensuring that LGBT seniors knew about the

development, and when to sign up for apartments, took thoughtful marketing. The developers and LGBT community leaders held regular meetings and sent updates via mailing lists. On the first

day applications were accepted, a bus was dispatched to provide a ride to applicants in need of transportation. (Under fair housing laws, the process was first come, first served.) Nine out

of 10 residents at the John C. Anderson Apartments identify as LGBT. More than 300 applicants are on the waitlist. "My hope is that this building serves as a beacon to communities to

address the needs of LGBT older Americans," says Williams. "Here I get to be me openly and unapologetically." TRIANGLE SQUARE APARTMENTS, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA Residents of

the Triangle Square Apartments in Hollywood are age 62-plus. Courtesy photo In June, 2007, 104 units of housing debuted near the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Triangle Square Apartments was the

first affordable housing building in the nation to focus on the LGBT community. "No one was sure it could be done or replicated again," says Tripp Mills, deputy director of senior

services at the Los Angeles LGBT Center, which partnered with developer McCormick Baron Salazar. (Originally, the nonprofit Gay and Lesbian Elder Housing partnered with McCormick Baron until

the LGBT Center took over the general partnership in 2014.)  The $21.5 million project was built with low-income tax credits, dedicated funds from a community redevelopment agency and $1.5

million in private funding. The average age for the Triangle residents (minimum age 62) is 75. Rent ranges from $241 to $967 a month with 32 percent using U.S. Housing and Urban Development

(HUD) vouchers. Most of the units are one-bedroom. The eight two-bedroom units are available for income-qualifying tenants with caregivers, couples or other family members. Thirty-five units

are set aside for people who have HIV/AIDS, are homeless or at risk of being homeless. The Los Angeles LGBT Center's Senior Services division provides recreational, community and

health services to the building, including choir, Reiki and intergenerational programming. The community room is also the site of more than 70 monthly social, educational and enrichment 

programs and services, including a reduced-cost lunch program for residents and their guests. Brown Crawford, who goes by "Brownie," swims two hours a day in the apartment

complex's pool. He helped raise money and awareness for Triangle Square, and when it was time to get wannabe residents to sign up, he went to LGBT bars and churches in the area to

spread the word. When the building opened, 58 percent of its residents were LGBT — in 2016 the number was 78 percent. COMING SOON Just four blocks from Triangle Square, the Los Angeles LGBT

Center expects to break ground in 2017 for The Anita May Rosenstein Campus, the nation's first intergenerational LGBT senior and youth housing complex. The development will feature 100

units of affordable housing for older adults, 100 beds for homeless youth, 35 units of permanent housing for younger people, new senior and youth centers and a kitchen to feed homeless youth

and older adults. In New York City, the national nonprofit SAGE is spearheading the construction of two LGBT projects. With 145 units, the Ingersoll Senior Residences in Brooklyn will be

the largest LGBT-welcoming elder-housing venture in the country.  _Sally Abrahms writes about caregiving, baby boomers, housing, retirement and aging-in-place topics. (See "Teaching

Elder Care Providers the Importance of Fostering a Welcoming Community," her companion article to this one.)_ _Page published December 2016_ More from AARP.org/Livable  Use the dropdown

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