The John T. Gregorio Towers – a seven-story, 78-unit senior housing project in Linden, NJ, designed by Gran Kriegel Associates – has been completed. A development of the City of Linden Housing Corporation, the project is named for former Linden Mayor John T. Gregorio. The building is located in a residential neighborhood overlooking a public park.
Funded by the Housing and Urban Development Authority and the Linden Housing Corporation, the complex features a multipurpose room, which is served by a commercial kitchen. This communal space accommodates dining and special events, also serving the adjacent existing buildings, which are part of the Linden senior housing complex. There is also a generous outdoor area for individual and group functions. Resident interaction is further facilitated by tenant lounges on each floor as well as a number of activity rooms – laundry, visiting physician, beauty salon, and computer room.
The one-bedroom residences feature windows with built-in blinds, vinyl wood plank floors and panel doors. Typical apartments are handicap-adaptable, meeting all Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards. One apartment on each floor is fully accessible for site- and hearing-impaired tenants.
The construction consists of load-bearing masonry walls and precast concrete plank. The new building, at seven stories, bridges the scale between the existing 11-story buildings and the adjacent residential neighborhood. The multicolored brick facades with light green metal windows and entrances give the building a non-institutional, less formal feeling than conventional projects of this type.
