LGBTQ Senior Housing Is Here and You Can Apply to The Pryde ASAP!
BOSTON—The Pryde is getting ready to welcome its first residents, according to a Boston-based non-profit organization’s website. The Pryde is owned and managed by Pennrose and LGBTQ Senior Housing, Inc. The mixed-income/affordable, independent living housing community “will house residents in 74 apartments.” The Pryde is the first LGBTQ-affirming affordable senior housing in Boston and it’s also a revolutionary project that it’s one-of-a-kind in New England. The building is nearing construction completion and is currently scheduled to open in Spring 2024.
Residency will be determined through a lottery process, consistent with Massachusetts Fair Housing requirements. The application for The Pryde’s Housing Lottery is currently open and accepting digital applications.
“We’re thrilled to announce that applications are now available for the City of Boston lottery that will award apartments at The Pryde!” according to the organization’s website. “The deadline for submitting your lottery application is Thursday, February 22, 2024.”
Applicants are not required to attend one of the information sessions already held (https://vimeo.com/905682876) to apply. Interested candidates can apply anytime before February 22nd. Visit www.thepryde.com to start your application.
Not First-come, first-served
Paper applications are also available by request in English and ready in the following languages: Arabic, Cape Verdean Creole, French, Haitian Creole, Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Somali, and Vietnamese. For additional information, e-mail info@lgbtqseniorhousing.org or call 857-342-3292. The online or snail mail lottery application must be submitted (digitally or through the Post Office, respectively) and the paper one must be postmarked no later than February 22nd. Please note that it is not a first come/first served process. That means that every completed application submitted to the City of Boston during the application period is treated the same in the lottery, regardless of the date it is submitted.
LGBTQ Senior Housing can be reached at info@lgbtqseniorhousing.org or 857-342-3292 to answer any questions regarding the application process.
The LGBTQ Senior Units
The project, through adaptive reuse, renovated the historic 100,000-square-foot building into 74 apartments of LGBTQ-friendly affordable senior housing, which will be home for residents aged 62 and over.
“Known as The Pryde, it will include a 10,000 square foot LGBTQ Community Center, offering diverse social, educational, and cultural services and programming to residents, the larger LGBTQ community, and the local diverse Hyde Park neighborhood, offering a new and expanded community gathering space. We expect to welcome our first residents in early 2024,” read the website. “… With the success of this project, we will be addressing both the need for welcoming and affordable housing and services that are intentionally LGBTQ-affirming.”
The Pryde will be the foundation for exploring “opportunities to develop additional sites as well as partner with other organizations to help make other senior housing LGBTQ-affirming.” It was designed to support the lives of older adults as they age in the community.
The Apartment units
There are studios comprised of studios, 1- and 2-bedroom units. These are located on the ground, 1st, 2nd and 3rd floors.
A recent Q&A from the organization explains more about the process and more. For instance, The Pryde has 74 apartments, including 25 studios, 41 one-bedrooms, and 8 two-bedrooms. Eight apartments are set aside for persons experiencing homelessness and will not be included in the lottery. Eleven apartments are built for persons with impaired mobility and two apartments are built for persons who are deaf/hard of hearing. All apartments are wheelchair accessible. For more information from the Q&A, click here.
Each apartment is renovated from a former classroom, and is designed as barrier free: bathrooms are large to accommodate mobility devices, kitchens are equipped with wall ovens in place of in-stove ovens for ease of access, and levered door handles and cabinet pulls facilitate use by people with arthritis. To view the various apartment unit types, click here.
For more information about amenities, photos, etc., the LGBTQ Senior Housing provides updates and information in its email newsletter and on social media. To be added to the LGBTQ Senior Housing email list, complete the form on the website: lgbtqseniorhousing.org/ or call (857) 342-3292.
The Rainbow Times first reported on this story in 2019.
