Navos Wins NAIOP Community Impact Development of the Year Award

Date Posted: 11.12.2015

Navos Behavioral Healthcare Center for Children, Youth and Families was honored with the Community Impact Development of the Year award at the 2015 NAIOP Night of the Stars Awards Program. Navos CEO David Johnson and Owner’s Representative Mary Ives joined the Mithun team to accept the award at the annual gala held Friday, November 6, in Bellevue, Washington. The Community Impact award recognizes a project, person or group that made a significant impact on the community. Judges evaluated the significance of the short term and projected long term impacts on the community including jobs and social benefits, environmental and physical improvements.

“We were fortunate to start with an innovative vision from Navos, a beautiful lakefront site, and a newly co-located continuum of services to address the complex needs of children, youth and families,” said Richard Franko, Mithun design partner. “The campus design supports healing with a sequence of indoor and outdoor spaces that connect children and families to nature and to their community of care.”

Navos’ new 7.5-acre campus in Lake Burien features a welcoming, camp-like atmosphere. It provides a safe, therapeutic environment where young children who have suffered abuse, neglect and other significant traumas, and youth with significant mental and emotional illness receive the treatment and support they need to heal. Navos worked with Mithun to craft a campus master plan, centered on the child, which connects buildings and landscape to enrich the Center’s engagement model of care. New buildings are interspersed with three native plant communities to create a layered, permeable buffer from lakeside to upland areas.

The redeveloped campus includes:

Independence Bridge is a studio apartment housing complex for 24 young adults (aged 18-25) transitioning out of foster care who could benefit from a safe and respectful community of peers as they establish a strong foundation for their independent adult lives. Every year in Washington, approximately 35% of youth aging out of foster care end up on the street during the first year. Independence Bridge provides critical support during this transition through individualized support services and daylight-filled spaces for gathering and growth: a library, common laundry rooms, a two-story communal kitchen and living area.
Six new Youth Residential Cottages provide a home-like setting for 30 children and teens with serious mental and emotional issues who are being served through Navos’ residential programs. The design features daylit corridors, a porch connecting to the lake and a vegetated entry porch, in dramatic contrast to the clinical feel of many similar facilities.
The new Outpatient Building contains programs including individual and family therapy, drug and alcohol assessment and treatment, crisis intervention, support groups and behavioral support for youth with developmental disabilities, as well as a primary care clinic to ensure clients receive preventative and coordinated medical care. Lakeside views enhance the therapeutic setting, and a connected covered play area provides an alternate counseling setting.
Additional new campus elements include facilities for individual, group or family counseling; studios for art, dance and music; a classroom wing; administrative space; and outdoor recreation area. New landscape elements include enhanced lakeside and stream