Simon C. Fireman Community Celebrates 40 Years and Opens 45 New Affordable, Energy-Efficient Apartments

Harvard Medical School affiliate Hebrew SeniorLife, New England’s largest nonprofit provider of senior health care and living communities, celebrated its 45-apartment expansion of the Simon C. Fireman Community with a ribbon-cutting ceremony featuring speakers and festivities.

The September 9 event also marked the 40th anniversary of the opening of the original Fireman Community, which offers older adults independent affordable apartment living with on-site services. 

The lunchtime ceremonies included remarks led by Fireman Community Executive Director Stephanie Small and featured local and state officials and Hebrew SeniorLife representatives.

The 45 new apartments are in addition to Fireman Community’s existing 160 senior apartments and offer coordinated services to residents. The new three-story wing is fully integrated with Fireman Community’s existing residences, sharing the same lobby and creating two courtyards with walking paths, exercise stations, and benches. Other amenities include a multi-purpose room, a fitness center, office space, an art/game room, a deck overlooking the courtyard, a library, and a lounge. 

The new addition is built to high sustainability and energy-efficient Passive House standards, receiving Phius project certification. Created to guide and verify the successful design and construction of passive buildings, Phius project certification combines stringent requirements with detailed review and quality assurance.

Senator Walter F. Timilty shared a citation from the Massachusetts Senate on behalf of himself and Senator Michael Brady. In his remarks, Senator Timilty expressed his belief that “where Hebrew SeniorLife goes, goodness and greatness follow.”

Randolph Town Manager Brian Howard, who attended the event with Police Chief Anthony Marag, Fire Chief Ronald Cassford, and other town officials, spoke highly of Fireman Community, saying, “We know just how important it is to have places like this in the community.”

“We all know the Commonwealth is struggling with a housing problem, so seeing 45 new units helps us move in the right direction,” said Leslie Reid, chief of investment programs at the Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation.

“I think it’s next to impossible to put a monetary value on the quality of life, where the living environment bridges the gap between housing and health care, and that’s something that Hebrew SeniorLife does so well,” said Alma Balonon-Rosen, senior relationship manager at the Massachusetts Housing Partnership. 

“First Citizens Bank is proud to support Hebrew SeniorLife’s Fireman Community Expansion project with construction financing and equity capital,” said First Citizens Bank Boston Area Executive Jason Nettles. “Hebrew SeniorLife’s inclusive, joyful approach to senior affordable housing is an inspiration, and we’re pleased to help advance their important efforts in the Commonwealth.”

“Hebrew SeniorLife is committed to supporting residents as they age in their community,” said Hebrew SeniorLife President and CEO Lou Woolf.

The Fireman Community incorporates a robust offering of services for residents, including the award-winning Right Care, Right Place, Right Time (R3) program, which integrates health care, wellness, and prevention into affordable housing communities.

More than $4.5 million in project contracts went to Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs), and 67% of the project workers were people of color.

Partners and funders of the Fireman Community expansion include:

• Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation.
• The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities.
• First Citizens Bank.
• MassHousing.
• Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation.
• Massachusetts Housing Partnership.
• The Town of Randolph.

The development team includes Affirmative Investments, Bald Hill Builders, ICON Architecture, Linnean Solutions, Nixon Peabody LLP, and Tierney Development Services.

Hebrew SeniorLife is committed to helping people age in the neighborhoods where they built families, owned businesses, and created vibrant communities. In addition to the Fireman Community expansion, Hebrew SeniorLife also recently completed Leyland Community in Dorchester’s Upham’s Corner, construction is nearly finished on a new building at the Center Communities of Brookline, and planning is underway for a new affordable senior housing community in Stoughton. 

About Hebrew SeniorLife
Hebrew SeniorLife, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, is a national senior services leader uniquely dedicated to rethinking, researching, and redefining the possibilities of aging. Hebrew SeniorLife cares for more than 4,500 older adults a day across campuses throughout Greater Boston. Locations include: Hebrew Rehabilitation Center-Boston and Hebrew Rehabilitation Center-NewBridge in Dedham; NewBridge on the Charles, Dedham; Orchard Cove, Canton; Simon C. Fireman Community, Randolph; Center Communities of Brookline, Brookline; Jack Satter House, Revere; and Leyland Community, Dorchester. Founded in 1903, Hebrew SeniorLife also conducts influential research into aging at the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research, which has a portfolio of more than $98 million, making it one of the largest gerontological research facilities in the U.S. in a clinical setting. It also trains more than 500 geriatric care providers each year. For more information about Hebrew SeniorLife, follow us on our blog, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and LinkedIn.