JAFCO Children’s Ability Center, Sunrise, FL

• 5100 N Nob Hill Rd, Sunrise, FL 33351
• 60,600 sq. ft.

Services Rendered

• Architecture Design Services
• Engineering

JAFCO Respite and Residential Center for Children with Development Disabilities is a ground-breaking facility of this type in the world located in the City of Sunrise, Florida. It is an expansion of the JAFCO Jewish Adoption Foster Care Option service to the community.
The 4.9 acres site is located adjacent to Daniel D. Cantor Senior Center and Federation Housing Incorporated. There are two major components of this project; 3 residential homes, approximately 4,200 square feet each, and a support facility, approximately 48,000 square feet. The purpose of the residential homes is to provide respite care to allow the parents and the other siblings to have an essential break from the sometimes-overwhelming stressors of parenting a child with special needs. They can also be used as a temporary shelter for foster care placement for a child who is at risk.

Our Architectural and Engineering Design for the support facility provides state-of-the-art treatment, support, research, and education for parents, siblings, and professionals in the community relating to the care of children with developmental disabilities. The support facility is fronting Nob Hill Road with an elliptical driveway and parking receives guests from a private street. The support facility also creates a buffer between the public spaces and the 3 residential homes. A park with a playground and trails interweave both facilities blurring the interior-exterior boundary.

The three private one-story residential homes each have an open floor plan layout taking full advantage of South Florida’s environment, overlooking the natural trails and gardens. The layout of interconnecting spaces also provides visibility and line of sight for the person in charge without visual obstruction such as corridors and walls. The support facility is divided into three groups of spaces, which are delineated by the three wings of the building: Administrative, Therapy, and Multipurpose. A centralized lobby connects the three wings to the entrance.

The Multipurpose and Therapy wings form a buffer along with the residences to the north. The Administrative wing intersects the Multipurpose/Therapy wings to define public space to the southwest, semi-public space within the facility, and private spaces to the northeast of the site that consist of nature trails, and a garden connecting to the 3 residential homes. The nature trails and garden interweave both facilities blurring the interior-exterior boundary.