LongCrest is a senior housing apartment building providing affordable housing for low-income residents. Consisting of 52 new residential units, shared common amenities and renovation to the historic Long Home, the 3.99 acre project site is situated in a mixed-use, urban context within the City of Lancaster, in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

LongCrest was designed to:

• Assimilate the residents and the building into the surrounding neighborhoods
• Preserve Lancaster’s existing, unique urban fabric
• Incorporate and promote energy conservation
• Meet Fair Housing Act requirements using a Visitability design approach
• Re-activate the city block and enhance the value of the surrounding community

The 52 units are arranged on three stories of new construction connected to the existing, historic Long Home. The first floor of the existing Long Home includes a library, reading room and history room, a large living room and lounge adjacent to the existing covered porch, a multi-purpose room with storage, a game room, as well as a classroom and meeting room. Second and third floor resident program spaces include lobby seating areas, a library, a meditation/chapel space, and a classroom/meeting room. The second floor of the Long Home provides a music room, art studio, gallery and craft room, a fitness and wellness suite consisting of a classroom, aerobic/yoga studio functions, and a large chapel. Resident support spaces include a manager’s office and workroom, supportive services office, resident mail room, public restrooms, resident storage lockers in the basement of the Long Home, and a refuse chute on each floor.  The total project area is 62,939-square-feet, including the carriage house, patios and exterior covered porches.

Located within walking distance to many services and along public transportation lines, residents can enjoy mobile independence and being part of an established community. The design team looked to the surrounding area to determine an appropriate solution to the way in which the structure would integrate with the community. The project utilized the existing Long Home, as well as an existing carriage house located on the site, to house community space and resident services and to anchor the new construction to the site. Development in this urban setting allowed for minimal site costs by tying into existing infrastructure and utilities.

The project was awarded low-income housing tax credits from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA).