NEW YORK: The two hundred and thirty-eighth entry for the seniors housing Global Awards 2016 has been received.
The much-anticipated affordable housing development and senior center was under construction when it was burned to the ground last April during the Baltimore riots. The fire occurred when protestors took to the streets following the funeral of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who died in police custody.
The building, which was 45% complete and on its way to becoming a new home for some of the city’s neediest seniors, was a total loss. The sight of the center engulfed in flames in the late evening hours became one of the lasting images of the riots.
Instead of lamenting the loss, however, The Woda Group, the Center’s developer and owner, doubled down on the project.
“By 11 o’clock the next morning, we convened a meeting in Baltimore and quickly made an announcement that we were committed to getting it built,” says David Cooper Jr., co-principal.
