PROVO, UT–ScenicView Academy, a nonprofit transitional school for young adults on the autism spectrum, broke ground this month on a new affordable housing apartment building designed specifically for autism. The building is a community partnership with the City of Provo, the Provo Housing Authority, Utah Regional Housing, Rimrock Construction, and a host of community donors and investors.

Designed to reduce sensory overstimulation and to promote community engagement, the building boasts a downtown location with walkable access to public transportation, local services, medical care, and other elements of independent living. The building, named 85 North, will also offer a sensory room, navigational support, executive functioning support as well as structured social opportunities, and onsite support from ScenicView Academy.

Those in the autism resources community “are struggling to find a model to build large-scale housing with wraparound services, so this has been a good deal,” said Robert Vernon, CEO of the Provo City Housing Authority. Vernon noted that 15 other cities have reached out to the community organizers working on the project, “and have an interest in what we’re doing and how we did it, so we do expect to help other communities do this same thing as we try to fill that.”

ScenicView Academy, in Provo Utah, is celebrating 20 years of teaching young adults with autism the skills needed to live independently, and this partnership extends that expertise to members of the autistic community beyond their campus. The 85 North project is scheduled for completion in September of 2022. To learn more about 85 North, read the article from The Desert News.

About ScenicView

ScenicView Academy, founded in 2001 in Provo, UT, is a nationally recognized nonprofit school for young adults with autism spectrum disorders, neurodiversities or learning disabilities. Through our residential programming, we empower our students to reach their potential and gain skills to live independently. Scholarships are available based on financial need. SVA is accredited by National Commission for the Accreditation of Special Education Services (NCASES).