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Maurice Hinchey salutes Hudson Valley LEED Platinum award winner

Tuesday, July 12th, 2011

Kingston, NY, 7-11-2011 At a panel on “Green Housing & The Baby Boomers,” U.S. Representative Maurice Hinchey (D-NY 22nd District) spoke of the significance of healthy green buildings, especially so when it is provided at the affordable senior housing level. At the presentation held at The Birches at Chambers, Hinchey spoke with pride that his district now has a LEED Platinum award winner in the multifamily category, the only one in the Hudson Valley.

Hinchey is shown here with Steven L. Aaron, the Founder and Managing Member of Birchez Associates LLC, the developer and management company for The Birches at Chambers. Hinchey addressed an audience of elected officials, business and civic leaders during the presentation at Birchez’ latest senior community in the town of Ulster.

The event, “Green Housing & The Baby Boomers” covered issues of health and dignity for seniors, especially with the start of the impact of the burgeoning Baby Boomer wave upon the country and the county. Hinchey honed in on how important LEED Platinum is to The Birches at Chambers, a 66-unit community adjacent to Chambers Court, the 72-unit original Birchez’ senior housing community completed just seven years ago.

The Birches at Chambers is now in an elite international group that has achieved LEED Platinum, developed by the US Green Building Council. The largest East Coast affordable low-rise multi-family housing project, this is the third largest in the US or Canada to earn this certification. Additionally, The Birches at Chambers is:

One of only five multi-family Platinum projects in the state of NY.
Third largest affordable project in the state of NY.
Ninth largest low or mid rise multi-family (including custom and market rate) in the US and Canada.
Only multifamily project in the Hudson Valley to achieve LEED Platinum.

In addition to using local workers on the construction, Aaron pointed out the local sourcing of the solar panels which both helps the local economy and decreases the use of fossil fuels in transporting materials.

Other panelists were Greg Watson, Assistant Commissioner for Regional Affairs, NYS Homes and Community Renewal (NYS HCR), William C. ”Willie” Janeway, Region III Director, Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), Michael Hein, Ulster County Executive Officer, LaMar Hasbrouck, MD, MPH, Director of Public and Mental Health for Ulster County, Joseph Malcarne, LEED AP, member of the US Green Building Council and President of Malcarne Contracting, and the host of the event, Steven L. Aaron, Founder and Managing Member of Birchez Associates.

Following the panelists remarks and the presentation of the LEED Platinum award to Steve Aaron and his wife Judy who contributed to design work (both interior and exterior), attendees were treated to tours of the building including mechanical rooms to see how the solar thermal and photovoltaic panels, high efficiency condensing boilers and state of the art circulating pumps all came together to help towards the LEED Platinum designation.

The tours of the building included the fitness studio with a specially trained senior fitness instructor, crafts room, library/game room, computer lab, and much appreciated on a hot day, the state of the art theater which cooled visitors after spending time in the warmth of the mechanical room. To the left is a partial view of the array of solar thermal and photovoltaic panels on the roof of the main 62-unit building which received the award. (LEED Gold was attained for the cottage units and caretaker’s home.)

‘Green’ senior housing receives praise

Tuesday, July 12th, 2011

KINGSTON, 7/12/2011 – As Ulster County’s population ages and energy resources grow scarcer and more expensive, there will also be a need for more affordable housing, especially for those on a fixed income, and the working public.

The Birches at Chambers, in the Town of Ulster, is a 62-unit senior affordable housing complex, and it’s the first multi-unit facility in the Hudson Valley to be given a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) award for its green building technology.

Willie Janeway, regional DEC director, said as housing remains in demand for baby boomers and the workforce, this housing fits the bill.

“The state is encouraging and doing all it can to support housing such as the housing we are celebrating today that is affordable for seniors and is also built ;green’, Leadership in Energy and Environmental design (LEED), which is the gold standard for environmental green building,” he said. “It makes it more sustainable and in the long term it will save money.”

Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-Hurley) said the project could serve as a model around the nation.

Steve Aaron, founder and managing partner of Birchez Associates, thanked Hinchey and other local officials like Ulster County Executive Michael Hein for helping to create a climate that’s conducive to go green on a mass scale.

Hein praised Aaron’s efforts to combine some future pressing needs to build more affordable housing that will have less impact the environment.

“It’s an enormous undertaking that you’re meeting the highest standards of building (technology),” said Hein. “We have to make sure places like this exist, so people can live with dignity regardless of their financial means.”

The Birches at Chambers receives LEED Platinum certification

Tuesday, July 12th, 2011

KINGSTON, N.Y. 07/11/2011– An affordable housing complex for seniors has received a big award for its leadership in energy. The Birches at Chambers has received the LEED platinum certification.

LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is an internationally-recognized green building certification system. The founder and managing partner of Birchez and Associates says he wants to make people aware of what the LEED program is all about.

“To celebrate LEED, but also give the important people that attended the event an opportunity to talk about the environment, health, health for seniors. How a healthy building is important for seniors, especially those aging in place,” said Steven Aaron, founder and managing partner of Birchez Associates.

The Birches at Chambers is just one of only two places of its kind on the East Coast.

To view the YNN broadcast, click here.

Case Study in Excellence: The Birches at Esopus

Wednesday, May 4th, 2011

New York, NY: The New York State Association for Affordable Housing (NYSAFAH) honored Birchez Associates’ affordable senior community, The Birches at Esopus, as Case Study in Excellence at a reception and presentation held in New York City at the REBNY (Real Estate Board of New York) headquarters.

Already recognized by NYSAFAH as Project of the Year — Upstate for 2010, The Birches at Esopus served as a case study in successful public and private partnership, innovative financing, and green energy efficiencies. At its ribbon cutting, the community was also acknowledged as an Energy $mart Building by NYSERDA, in part because 70% of domestic hot water and 30% of the heat comes from solar thermal panels. Further, The Birches at Esopus was one of four national finalists for Senior Project of the Year in Affordable Housing Magazine.

The panel (shown to the right) was introduced by Jay Seiden, Seiden & Schein, PC, and comprised Birchez Associates Founder & Managing Member, Steven L. Aaron, The Honorable John Coutant, Supervisor of the Town of Esopus, John Kelly, Esq. of Nixon Peabody, Marian Zucker of New York State Homes & Community Renewal, Peter King representing the Federal Home Loan Bank – NY, and Rita Wyatt Esq., principal of Wyatt & Co. Judy Wells Aaron and K.J. McIntyre both of Birchez Associates also participated in the presentation. Available for the Q&A were the Town of Esopus clerk, Diane L. McCord, town council member Gloria VanVliet and chair of the planning board Roxanne Pecora (shown in the lower left photo from right to left).

Key topics introduced both by panel participants and the audience included:

Finding financing for affordable housing projects and how that has changed in today’s economic market

Creating market rate amenities to both attract residents and to fulfill aging in place goals

Structuring a public – private partnership and the political courage it takes to succeed in bringing quality affordable housing to a community

Changing environment in the now combined DHCR and nyhomes, now New York State Homes and Community Renewal

Attendees included developers, financiers, architects, attorneys and other members of NYSAFAH.

Seniors and Alcohol

Monday, December 6th, 2010

12-6-2010 by K.J. McIntyre

I was giving a tour of The Birches at Chambers, our latest senior living community, to a professional who worked with seniors. As we looked at the community room and the adjacent patio with pergola creating a sweet seating area, my guest said, “What a perfect place to have afternoon cocktails.”

I paused for a moment and said, “You don’t mean for our residents do you?” She sited another senior residence where afternoon sherry is the norm. “Well,” I said, “that’s not something you’ll find here.”

Owners Steve and Judy Aaron are fierce about protecting their residents, and it shows in both the non-smoking campuses for their latest senior properties and that alcohol is discouraged for any function in the public areas. Their concern took on new significance when I heard Dave Lucas reporting on WAMC public radio regarding a new study of Baby Boomers and Alcoholism. As he reported it: “The Baby Boomers have become Senior Citizens – the generation that rocked and revolutionized the 1960s and 70s – then settled down in the 80s and 90s are now into THEIR sixties and early seventies – experiencing the change of going from a working life into retirement. Perhaps no coincidence, alcohol abuse is on the rise among their ranks.”

Lucas spoke with Crystal Dea Moore, an associate professor and the program director of the social work program at Skidmore College, who is conducting interviews of seniors in the Saratoga area. She has worked with Swedish researchers on quality of life issues as they relate to alcoholism. The forecast is startling: the number of adults over 50 with substance abuse problems will double from 2.5 million in 1999 to 5 million by 2020.

It’s easy to see the correlation; changing metabolism, isolation and depression are too often common in the senior population, and all can increase the use and/or impact of alcohol. It’s another reason we encourage an active life style at our communities and feature a senior advocate and others that can keep an eye out for our residents and recommend resources as appropriate. And it’s a reminder for all of us to stay in touch with loved ones who may not have the support system in place that they once had. Locally, Jewish Family Services offers non denominational, home-based, one-on-one counseling for seniors suffering from depression, grief and other symptoms (costs can be covered under Medicare and Medicare Part B). For more information, their website is http://www.jfsulster.org; they can be reached at 845-338-2980.

You can listen to the full interview (click here) on WAMC.

(K.J. McIntyre is Director of Marketing for Birchez Associates LLC. She can be reached at kjmcintyre@birchez.com)

New Health Care Partnership

Friday, November 19th, 2010

11-19-10 by Kathy Kahn

Elant, the largest senior health care provider in the Hudson Valley, and Birchez Associates, an affordable senior home builder based in Ulster County, are joining forces to bring more services to the region’s fast-growing over-55 population.

Elant, with locations in Orange, Dutchess and Westchester that serve over 1,000 people a day, and Birchez Associates, which has been several affordable housing projects for both families and seniors in Ulster, have formed a private-public partnership to help provide a wider range of services to the seniors they serve and expand their respective reach into the growing elder care marketplace.

Their first partnership, “The Nurse Is In,” was started in April 2010, facilitated by Elant’s vice president of clinicial affairs. Three mornings a week, a registered nurse from Elant travels between The Birches at Esopus and The Birches at Chambers, providing wellness counseling, acting as a liaison between residents’ doctors or hospitals, and assisting residents who need licensed home health services, which Elant is able to provide through its own health aide program.

For Elant, it’s an opportunity to expand its presence in Ulster County. For Steve Aaron, founder and president of Birchez Associates in Kingston, it’s an opportunity to work with a respected senior health care provider and to offer enhanced services to residents of his senior care complexes and to expand Birchez Associates’ borders as well.

They co-sponsored a breakfast in Orange County on Nov.10 at Anthony’s Pier 9 featuring Matt Thornhill, founder of The Boomer Project. Thornhill spoke of the growing trend of private-public partnerships similar to the one Elant and Birchez has embarked upon.

Elant and Birchez plan to continue their private-public partnership and are currently working to build a 62-and-over affordable senior apartment complex on the grounds of Elant at Fishkill.

“It will be another way for us to provide continuum of care for the senior population,” said Donna Cornell, chairwoman of the board of directors for Elant. “Steve builds quality affordable senior housing. We excel in providing services for seniors. We have 6 acres of property at our Fishkill site where we would like to provide housing and also have the ability to provide services for residents as they need them through our own skilled nursing facility. We both believe that we can provide a combined service to the community and to form the private-public partnerships that are needed.”

Aaron says public-private partnerships is a growing trend that makes sense for anyone trying to meet the needs of the aging population. “No one entity can do it all alone. ‘The Nurse is In’ program has been a great boon to our residents at our senior complexes and I’m looking forward to continuing to partner with Elant.”

published on Westfair Online

County Executive Mike Hein Meets with Senior Residents

Tuesday, August 31st, 2010

Town of Ulster, 8/30/2010: Mike Hein joined the Senior Residents of The Birches at Chambers in their Community Room for a lively and informative discussion on senior resources and programs that are available through Ulster County. “Too often these resources are untapped, and the people who need them the most don’t know how to tap into services,” said Hein. (Alice is shown to the right of Mike Hein in the lead photo.)

Organizer of today’s event is Alice Tipp, the Senior Advocate for Birchez Associates, who services their four affordable senior communities in Ulster County. Alice works to coordinate services with the over 325 seniors who live at The Birches at Chambers, The Birches at Esopus, The Birches at Saugerties, and Chambers Court. Alice Tipp served as a county legislator for thirty years and is not shy in getting the right resources to “her” residents. “I am delighted that the County Executive took the time to be with us today. His enthusiasm is contagious and I know we all learned a great deal today,” said Ms. Tipp. Also welcoming Mike Hein were Steve and Judy Aaron the principals of Birchez Associates who built and manage The Birches at Chambers.

The Q&A portion of the program hit some topics outside the scope of strictly senior resources. Mike Hein in response to questions about taxes spoke of the need to consolidate services that are now duplicated between towns and the county. Following the formal presentation, the County Executive had the opportunity to speak briefly with many residents. Included was Joe Vanacore, a World War II Vet, who is concerned about the level of veterans’ benefits especially as he is dependent on a wheelchair these days. (Joe was recently featured in the book The Liberators: America’s Witnesses to the Holocaust by Michael Hirsh for his work with General Patton’s Tank Corps in liberating death camps in Germany.)

Harold Schumann, another resident, spent eleven years bouncing from hospitals to nursing homes before finding the appropriate ADA compliant, fully handicapped accessible home at The Birches at Chambers. He spoke to the County Executive about how happy he is now that he’s settled in his own apartment.

The Birchez Associates website, www.Birchez.com, has links on their communities pages to the resources Mike Hein spoke of in the Ulster County Care program, in addition to a variety of senior related, local recreational, historic sites, and more. To visit one of the links pages, click here.

Editor’s Note: Michael P. Hein, Ulster County Executive, was one of the presenters at the dedication of The Birches at Chambers on July 8th. For a video of his remarks, click here.

Esopus senior housing project up for award

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010

Published: Wednesday, August 25, 2010 ESOPUS — The Birches at Esopus is one of three developments financed by state of New York housing agencies* to be named finalists in Affordable Housing Finances’ sixth annual Reader’s Choice Awards.

The Birches at Esopus is the first affordable housing community for senior citizens in the town of Esopus and provides 80 energy-efficient apartments for low-income seniors. Units are accessible to people with disabilities, and the development includes outdoor and community space, craft and media rooms, an exercise studio and an on-site nursing program, which provides services like physical and speech therapy, health and wellness programs and health aides.

Nationwide, 33 projects were chosen from 140 nominations on the criteria of community impact, cost-effective or innovative design or construction, and energy-efficient and sustainable development.

The other New York finalists are the Atlantic Avenue Residence, a 107-unit development in Brooklyn; and the 24-unit Nelson Hopkins Apartments, the Elizabeth Pierce Olmsted Center for the Visually Impaired, in Lockport, near Buffalo.

The winners will be announced at the 2010 Affordable Housing Developer’s Summit in November in Chicago. Photo and asterick information added for website.

* nyhomes and DHCR (Division of Housing & Community Renewal)

Going Green: Affordable housing can also be sustainable

Monday, August 23rd, 2010

08/22/2010 12:38 PM YNN for the Hudson Valley by Terry Ettinger

Click here for link to broadcast

Affordable housing can also be sustainable, energy-efficient housing – case in point, a new 66-unit senior citizen apartment complex recently dedicated in Ulster County.“Radiant heat in the floors, 70 percent of our heat and hot water is produced with solar power, a 50 kw photovoltaic electric system, every single apartment is air-blower tested for air infiltration, the air conditioning systems have the highest efficiency ratings available, the heating systems are European in design and they know about saving energy over there because they’ve been paying more than we have. Our boilers, for example, are 97 to 98 percent efficiency,” said Steve Aaron, Managing Member of Birchez Associates. Birchez Associates was able to do this in part by obtaining state grants.

“New York State has a number of programs that help support builders and developers who are interested in trying to provide a sustainable approach to construction. I divide them into two groups; one is at the single- family level (individual homes) and the other is for multi-family homes and building support as well,” said Paul Crovella, Sustainable Construction Management and Engineering, SUNY-ESF.

Paul Crovella teaches sustainable construction management.

“The single-family home, New York State currently has a program for builders interested in going through Energy Star certification for the home. It provides money for the builders to do that and essentially offsets quite a bit of the cost,” said Crovella.

Similar programs are available for multi-family construction like senior citizen housing offering incentives for developers to think green when they’re in the design stage for upgrading the insulation, window quality and the efficiency of the heating plant, like they did at the new Birches at Chambers, and Crovella believes it’s a worthwhile program.

“It makes a lot of sense in that the individual who is building a project like that, if they know they’re not going to be paying the utility bills over the life of the building then they have very little incentive to put in a better window or improve the efficiency,” said Crovella.

Central Hudson’s Almanac Salutes Birchez’ Green Affordable Commitment

Saturday, August 21st, 2010

August 20, 2010: Paul Tesoro, Director of Communications for Central Hudson, hosts a daily broadcast called Almanac aired on multiple Hudson Valley radio stations. We were pleased that he featured The Birches at Chambers and The Birches at Esopus in today’s broadcast. Paul highlighted the amenities that our communities offer and how they contribute to the quality of life for our residents. In addition, the broadcast covered the green aspects that ultimately contribute not only to health but also affordability. To listen to the broadcast, click here (it takes a moment for the intro to kick in).