BY ALINE REYNOLDS | Tribeca Twelve, a new addiction treatment residence at 283 West Broadway, will open early next month once the building receives its temporary certificate of occupancy. The posh, six-story, 30-bed residence is made up of quad and double suites equipped with sprawling living rooms, modern kitchens and naturally lit study rooms.
The residence will cater to recovering addicts, ages 18 to 29, who are either enrolled in a Tri-State college or graduate program or are actively seeking to return to school. In order to be accepted candidates must undergo a rigorous application process and must remain abstinent from all illegal substances throughout their entire stay at Tribeca Twelve. Barbara Kistenmacher, executive director of Hazelden New York, the nonprofit running the residence, said the facility is unique in that “there’s really no collegiate recovery housing that’s targeted particularly to this population in all of New York City.”
Kistenmacher said Hazelden decided to site the facility in Tribeca because, “It’s a great community, it’s a safe community, and it’s very convenient to a lot of the different colleges in New York City.”
The program will offer outpatient services at Hazelden’s treatment center in Chelsea as well as at Columbia University’s College Student Program at East 60th Street and Madison Avenue. Hazelden, Kistenmacher said, had rehabilitation and peer-bonding in mind when designing the 17,500-square-foot Tribeca residence.
“We wanted a place where the focus is on studying and accomplishing academic goals, as well as recovery [and creating an atmosphere for] peer support and fun,” said Kistenmacher. “We wanted enough space so that people can feel like they can have privacy but also not be tempted to be isolated. All those things, combined, we feel we captured.”
While the residence will be monitored 24 hours a day and housekeepers will clean the suites every two weeks, Hazelden will not provide other day-to-day living services for the youths.
“We purposely didn’t provide a chef or anything like that because we really wanted it to be community-building and people taking responsibility for their lives and developing independent living skills,” said Kistenmacher.
The ground floor will have a treatment clinic, where staff will offer group and individual sessions several times per week, including specialized counseling and therapy and residence-wide meetings. Tribeca Twelve will also offer yoga classes with an instructor that focuses on overcoming trauma and addiction.
Hazelden also organized a roof deck design competition, gathering submissions from 28 teams of architecture and design students from around the country. “We gave them a budget of $20,000 and said, ‘Do what you can do within that budget,’” said Kistenmacher.
Nine finalists visited Tribeca Twelve on July 27 to make slideshow presentations of their designs in front of Hazelden staff. The winning submission came from a sophomore at the Fashion Institute of Technology.
The design is peppered with bamboo and divided into two sections: a common space for dining and entertainment, and an area fitted with hammocks and lounges to foster privacy and relaxation. The student, who requested her name not be published. tried to make the space low-maintenance but beautiful at the same time. It is specifically tailored to former addicts searching for serenity.
“I did my research on rehabilitation facilities. What is very important for people in therapy… is finding yourself and being able to make peace with yourself,” said the student.
The layout of the relaxation area is supposed to mimic the feeling of “floating on a lake.”
“A lot of people worry too much about what’s going to happen in the future or the past,” the student said. “I wanted to create a space that allows you to spend time with yourself and lets you enjoy the present, which lets you excel in life.”
Kistenmacher, one of the competition judges, praised the submission. “The design really captured the concept of recovery by having elements that not only included community focus but the ability to have some independent space or time.”
Hazelden is currently searching for additional funding to complete the construction of the roof deck.
Tribeca Twelve is still accepting applications for the fall. A double room costs $5,500 a month, or $5,250 a month with a 12-month commitment. A quad room costs $5,250 a month, or $5,000 a month with a 12-month commitment. For more information, visit www.hazelden.org.
