A Sustainable Senior Residence Becomes the First of Its Kind
Creating Healthy Housing for Older Adults
A CASE STUDY
Sunrise at East 56th is a stunning building. Located in New York City’s midtown neighborhood, just one block from Park Avenue, the senior living community provides personalized assisted living and memory care. It has 151 luxury units and opened at the end of 2021.
Sunrise Senior Living, the operator for East 56th, reached out to GHP, a trusted partner for many years, as construction of its new Manhattan building started. Sunrise and their partners, Welltower and Hines, wanted East 56th to be not only beautiful but also sustainable, and Sunrise needed GHP’s expertise to make that a reality.
The project began by pursuing two certifications, LEED Silver and WELL Silver. But in the midst of that process, COVID-19 hit. The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) responded with a new standard: the WELL Health-Safety Rating (WELL HSR), designed to help facilities implement science-backed policies for health and safety. Sunrise and their partners all agreed and made the decision to pursue this third certification with GHP. It was up to GHP to navigate the requirements of this new certification as the sole consultant for the WELL Health-Safety Rating.
“Sunrise at East 56th is a flagship project for Sunrise and we knew we wanted to set it apart in many ways. One was in sustainability and wellness. Sunrise values these pursuits but didn’t know how to go about the process. GHP guided us, presented us with options, and expertly advised us every step of the way. They were especially helpful with registration and certification. We’re so grateful for their expertise, which was needed for a project of this complexity.”
—Andy Coelho, Sunrise Senior Living’s Senior Vice President of Construction, Facilities & Design
Project Highlights
Services: Sustainability Consulting for WELL Health & Safety Rating Certification
Timeline: 2018-2021
Project Scope:
Provided sustainability consulting for the new WELL Health-Safety Rating
Gathered and interpreted required information in our role as Sunrise’s liaison with a third-party sustainability consultant for WELL Silver and LEED Silver
Project Outcomes:
Sunrise at East 56th became the world’s first building in the senior living sector to receive LEED Silver, WELL Certification at the Silver level, and the WELL Health-Safety Rating.
Client
Sunrise Senior Living is a leading provider of senior care services in the U.S. and Canada. It operates communities for assisted living, independent living and memory care.
Challenges and Objectives
The goal was to operate a senior living community that was designed with energy savings, the environment, and health needs in mind. This would especially benefit the health of the vulnerable population that Sunrise serves, in addition to the more than 200 people that work at East 56th.
Sunrise at East 56th was pursuing three different certifications. That gets complicated. WELL alone has a list of 100+ items that a building needs to have–and each of those contains 1-4 requirements.
Sunrise at East 56th needed to accomplish the following:
Fulfill the hundreds of requirements across three different certifications
Pass the WELL verification testing requirements
Continue to operate per all three certifications for the first year and many years ahead
Consultants for Sunrise at East 56th needed to do the following:
Work with Sunrise, Hines, the design and construction teams to gather all of the required information
Organize the troves of documentation
Coordinate information between the three certifications
Upload the documentation to two websites for review, comment and approval
Solution
GHP’s expertise ensured that the project was able to meet innumerable requirements, receive the certifications and create a beautiful building for years to come.
GHP assisted the owners and project team to ensure East 56th would be a truly green community:
Met regularly with Sunrise’s Regional Director of Facilities and the LEED/WELL consultant throughout design and construction to provide the necessary documentation
Worked directly with Sunrise’s Vice President of Dining & Nutrition Services to determine how to meet the many healthy eating and nutrition requirements of WELL
Worked with Sunrise’s purchasing department to ensure that East 56th ordered materials and products that would meet WELL requirements
Created, compiled and analyzed documentation that supported East 56th in achieving its three sustainability certifications
Results
Nestled in the heart of Manhattan, Sunrise at East 56th is a luxury community designed and operated with the well-being of residents and team members as its highest priority. It features beautiful architectural details and designs creating sophisticated residential suites and amenities for dining, programs, activities and engaging social events. It’s studio and two-bedroom apartments have sweeping views of Manhattan, plus residents can enjoy outdoor terraces and gardens.
East 56th is also saving energy and using environmentally friendly products and building materials, ensuring it contributes positively to the health of people in the building and the surrounding community.
GHP has been and is now working with Sunrise to gather the information required to renew E56th’s WELL Certification and WELL Health-Safety Rating for 2023.
GHP is helping Sunrise maintain the following:
WELL Certification, which requires submission of documentation annually, plus recertification every three years.
The WELL Health-Safety Rating. This rating focuses on policies and operations and requires annual renewal. Documentation must be uploaded, reviewed and approved each year for East 56th to maintain the WELL HSR.
During this journey, GHP is there for Sunrise to make sure East 56th continues to serve the environmental and health needs of its residents, employees, visitors, and the greater community.
GHP's WELL Health-Safety Rating Feature Guide
In January 2021, Sunrise at East 56th achieved WELL Health-Safety Rating status. Check out the feature guide above that showcases WELL at this building and the 15 certified features it was awarded.