When you walk into Four Ten Lofts—a new 76-unit apartment building in the heart of the Bromo Tower Arts and Entertainment District—you’re greeted with art on the walls, tasteful pops of color and a beautiful open courtyard off of the community room.

The apartments are spacious with huge windows for natural light and a washer and dryer, too. You might find yourself thinking, “Now, this is a place I could live.”

This summer, 20 people exiting homelessness will make good on that thought, moving into apartments at Four Ten Lofts with the assistance of Health Care for the Homeless supportive housing staff. They’ll join artists and market-rate renters occupying the other 56 residences.

“I don’t think Dan or I need a whole lot of data to tell us that housing is better than homelessness,” President & CEO Kevin Lindamood says, reflecting on the collaboration with Dan McCarthy, Executive Director of Episcopal Housing Corporation and co-developer with The French Companies. “It’s obvious! And the solution is equally simple: we should be investing in affordable housing.”

In the months before move-in, volunteers from the United Way of Central Maryland stocked all 20 supportive housing apartments with essentials to make empty spaces feel like home, including toilet paper, towels, shower curtains, shelf-stable foods and even rugs and vacuums. And donors contributed $95,000 to fully furnish them.

“Welcome home” mats lay ready to greet each new resident.

Get an inside peek into this unique housing collaboration through our Four Ten Lofts video series and photo gallery.