New Apartment Project Designed Specifically For Adults With Autism

RED BANK, N.J. — Karen Fluharty exhaustively searched 40 places across the country where her son Ryan could go when he “fell off the services cliff” as a young adult with autism.

“None of them fit. They were home-like group settings where people needed more individualized support. Or located in neighborhoods that were not walkable,” Fluharty said.

So she decided to create a neurodiverse housing project in Red Bank through a nonprofit she founded called Parents with a Plan. The group’s mission is to unite families, legal and housing professionals with the goal of creating homes for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The housing project, called Thrive, recently received site plan and variance approval from Red Bank for a property located at 273 Shrewsbury Ave. Construction is expected to begin next year and be completed in 2025.

The current commercial and apartment building on the site will be demolished and a three-story, 35,891-square-foot building will be constructed with 32 one-bedroom units and a ground-floor studio.

“Access to this type of housing will reduce costs,” said Christopher Manente, founding executive director of the Rutgers Center for Adult Autism Services. “The idea here is to do things from the beginning. It will also result in less need to be as reactive and wait for people to fail, as is the current system. Only people who fall into crisis receive care.”

There are at least 200,000 people in New Jersey who have intellectual or developmental disabilities, according to a market analysis study commissioned by Parents with a Plan last year. Around 73% live with relatives and 38,000 of them live with a caregiver over 60 years of age.

Fluharty, who finally found a place for her son to go in Arizona, reached out to her former boss John Klein, with whom she worked in retail real estate for Simon Premium Outlets and his wife, Robin. Using Fluharty’s experience in marketing and communications and Klein’s as the former CEO of Simon’s shopping center division, the two have partnered as developers.

“A few years ago, Karen met with us and told us she was thinking about starting Parents with a Plan,” Klein said. “She described how with so many parents having autistic children, as they get older and approach age 21, parents start to worry. What would happen if something happened to them?

They joined forces with the Rutgers Center for Adult and Manente Autism Services.

“This will be the first time in New Jersey,” he said of Thrive. “That’s not to say there aren’t other excellent examples of supportive housing. But none that has gone this far. And there has never been a public-private partnership like this.”

Fluharty’s son Ryan has been living at First Place in Arizona for more than two years. The Thrive developers have used it as inspiration for what they want Thrive to be.

“We’re really taking the best of the industry and bringing them all together,” Fluharty said. “It creates more independent adults who need less support from the government.”

A “navigator” will live in a studio on the ground floor of the building and will be available to help guide residents.

For example, Fluharty said, if a resident were injured, the navigator could help them determine whether the injury requires a bandage or a trip to the emergency room.

Similar support staff in Arizona have helped her son Ryan become more independent.

“Two years ago, I never would have imagined Ryan doing the things he’s doing,” Fluharty said. “Now he flies alone to Newark airport. Get an Uber to the airport and check her bag.”

He also volunteers two days a week at the Phoenix Zoo. When he started there, he had problems with his locker. First Place’s service coordinator met him at the zoo and showed him how to solve problems, how to introduce himself and tell others that he needs help with his locker, Fluharty said.

“I’m doing this because as a single mother, I shouldn’t have to make the decision to have my child in the best program and stay home,” she said. “The choice between geography and best program was a major catalyst for me in creating Thrive.”

The Manente center is providing training on how to support people with autism and will provide assistance to Thrive.

“Thrive’s Red Bank project is a natural extension of that mission,” he said.

A quality director will oversee the overall support and individual services residents receive from the New Jersey Division of Developmental Disabilities. There will be a community concierge who will help with job opportunities, recreational activities, transportation and other issues. There is also a community room where yoga classes and movie nights can be held.

“This is not for people with significant and complex needs,” Manente said. “It is limited to people who are independent and do not need someone to stay overnight. People who can do personal hygiene, dress themselves and maintain a clean and tidy apartment.”

The special needs of residents are also taken into account in the design.

“We came up with important design features: automatic shut-off of faucets and stoves. Lighting should not be fluorescent. Sound attenuation throughout the building,” Klein said.

Fluharty and Klein researched several cities, including New Brunswick and Ridgewood, before settling on Red Bank as the best location for their first project.

It was chosen for its walkability, transportation options, arts and culture, abundance of nonprofit organizations, job opportunities, and access to education.

It is also important that the city is welcoming to this population.

“I am thrilled to see this project happen in Red Bank,” said Red Bank Mayor Billy Portman. “We already provide so many services to underserved and needy populations, so it makes perfect sense for Thrive, the first facility of its kind for neurodiverse residents in the state of New Jersey, to open its doors in our district. “I am proud to be a Red Bank resident.”

Fluhartym, who has already received 70 calls and emails from parents interested in the concept, hopes Thrive Red Bank will be the first of many.

“We are creating a social impact fund where other investors can get involved,” he said. “Our goal is to expand this throughout New Jersey.”

Special needs housing, he said, is where senior housing was 65 years ago.

“The options market has expanded tremendously,” Fluharty said. “Our goal is to pioneer housing in this category so that 15 to 20 years from now, parents won’t have to face the challenges I faced.”

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