A major expansion and renovation project is officially underway to transform a three-century-old building into a welcoming dormitory for young women attending public schools nearby. Designed by architecture firm JZA+D for nonprofit HomeWorks Trenton, the new base of operations will also serve as the organization’s headquarters while providing room and board for the teen scholars seeking to take full advantage of their high school academic opportunities and find new paths to the future.
A recent groundbreaking ceremony marked the start of construction, led by HomeWorks Trenton co-founder and Executive Director Natalie Tung and featuring remarks from Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora. Also in attendance were Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson, Mercer County Executive Dan Benson, Mercer County Commissioner Samuel Frisby, and West Ward Councilwoman Teska Frisby along with a gathering of scholars, families, and community supporters. Architect Joshua Zinder, AIA, managing partner of JZA+D and the project’s lead designer, also participated in the celebration.
With research showing the benefits of boarding schools for student success – for example, 87% of boarding school graduates reported being ready for college, compared to 39% of public schools—Tung looked for ways “to bring the benefits of a boarding school to public schools, but without high costs or removing students from their community." In 2016, she helped found HomeWorks as a weekday after-school residential program for marginalized girls. The model centered around four main components: dormitory living and meals, round-trip transportation to school, academic enrichment, and identity-driven leadership.
"Today’s groundbreaking signifies more than just a new building,” said Tung. “It embodies the dreams, power, and strength of the young women we work alongside. This building will serve as an anchor, allowing us to more closely collaborate with our scholars, parents, and leaders in the Trenton community, and also catapult our organization into a model we hope to scale across the country and world.”
At the public event, HomeWorks announced it had received its largest single funding source yet: a $2.1 million grant from Lumena Foundation.
The architect consulting with Tung for several years on expanding HomeWorks Trenton’s capacity, Joshua Zinder and the team at JZA+D helped to identify a viable property to adapt: a three-story house in Trenton’s Parkside neighborhood, parts of which date back to 1740s. Specializing in multifamily residential design and adaptive reuse, Zinder designed the renovation and expansion to increase the site’s usable area from 9,000 square feet to more than 15,000 square feet while maintaining the building’s residential scale. JZA+D also provided a master plan for the mini-campus.
“It’s a privilege to support such an important endeavor,” says Zinder. “Every day, Natalie and her team make direct, positive and lasting impacts on the lives of young women, benefitting not only the scholars but also their families and communities.”
When complete, in addition to dormitories HomeWorks new location will offer varied work-study areas, a full kitchen, an elevator for ADA compliance, and apartments for a live-in House Director, an Assistant House Director, and three additional live-in staff. HomeWorks’ new dorm rooms will accommodate 42 scholars — more than doubling the program’s current capacity. The master plan adds new on-site parking, bus pickup and drop-off, and space for future outdoor learning experiences, including connections to the Delaware Raritan Canal State Park Trail pedestrian walkway.
“At HomeWorks, we are creating a community of women to reclaim power over their cultures, identities and experiences,” says Tung.
