Multifamily developers and Building Teams continue to push the envelope when it comes to creating places that wow potential renters and owners. The following projects are indicative of the types of cutting-edge amenities and features that multifamily tenants and owners are coming to expect from new developments.
1. L.A. NEIGHBORHOOD GETS ‘MICROPOLITAN’ TREATMENT
The Micropolitan at Larchmont Village is a new 34-unit project designed by architecture firm KFA and developed by Micropolitan LLC in Los Angeles. Rents range from $2,600 for a studio or small one-bedroom, to $4,500 for the largest two-bedroom units. Amenities include a rooftop deck-cum-BBQ area, outdoor lounge, community room plus full kitchen, bicycle storage, and pet spa. Residents can walk to Hancock Park and Hollywood and are close to Paramount Pictures studio. Multiple rapid transit options are nearby. The apartments offer open floor plans, large balconies, walk-in closets, and high-quality finishes. More photos at: BDCnetwork.com/Micropolitan. Photo courtesy KFA
2. SUCH A DEAL! FREE COFFEE AT SMOKE-FREE TEXAS APARTMENT COMPLEX
The Mallory Eastside Apartments, a 281-unit complex in Richardson, Texas, 15 miles north of Dallas, started leasing in April. The smoke-free community is packed with amenities: a business center with free drinks at the gourmet coffee bar; a “tropical oasis”—pool, private cabanas, and grilling stations; a dog spa; and a Zen meditation garden. Plus fiber optic cable and a smart home technology package. The DART Arapaho station is an 11-minute jaunt. Hunt Companies developed the property with its affiliates, Moss & Associates (GC) and Pinnacle Property Management Services. Photo courtesy Hunt Companies
3. LEED GOLD APARTMENTS NEAR METRO LINE TO D.C.
The Maxwell, a LEED Gold mixed-use project in Arlington, Va., has 2,200 sf of ground-floor retail and three levels of underground parking. It’s an eight-minute hop-skip-and-jump to the Ballston-MU Metro station for the 16-minute trip to the Federal Triangle station. The 163 luxury units range in size from 538 to 1,027 sf. KTGY Architecture + Planning (architect) led the project team for owner/developer Crimson Partners and owner Washington Real Estate Investment Trust: RD Jones & Associates (interior design), Tadler-Cohen-Edelson Associates (SE), Bowman Consulting (CE, landscape architect), Alliance Engineers (mechanical), and Clark Builders Group (GC). Photos: Sam Kittner (exterior) and Whitney Cox
4. CONVERTED DEPARTMENT STORE IN ALABAMA NOW A MIXED-USE RESIDENTIAL HUB WITH A FOOD HALL, CO-WORKING SPACE
In the 1920s, the Pizitz department store was the place to shop in Birmingham, Ala. The store closed in 1987, but two years ago, general contractor Brasfield & Gorrie led the renovation of the landmark structure for the ownership team of Bayer Properties, Stonehenge Capital, and Wisznia Architecture + Development. In addition to 143 apartments, a ground-floor food hall (designed by Rule Joy Trammel + Rubio) opened in February; later this summer, 13,000 sf of co-working office space will become available. Wisznia and KPS Group were the architecture team, with LBYD (SE), Appleseed Golden (design-build JV for food stalls and restaurants), and Masonry Arts (terra cotta restoration). Photos courtesy Bradfield & Gorrie
5. DETROIT’S DUCHARME PLACE PAYS HOMAGE TO MIES’S LAFAYETTE PARK
Photo: Jason Keen
DuCharme Place, a 185-unit apartment complex in Detroit, takes its design from elements of Mies van der Rohe’s historic Lafayette Park, across the way from the four-building complex. McIntosh Poris Architects’ Michael Poris, AIA, says the new lifestyle community (still partly under construction) “builds upon [Mies’s] vision” to create a relationship with nature. Brick, metal, and glass were used to recall the modernist palette. Bicyclists and walkers will have direct access to the Dequindre Cut Greenway, a recreation path that links the neighborhood to the Eastern Market and RiverWalk, Detroit’s riverfront park. Photo: Ducharme Place
6. ‘FLATS 8300’ WINS HONORS FROM USGBC CHAPTER
Flats 8300, a 359-unit condominium complex in Bethesda, Md., recently won an Excellence in Green Building “Wintergreen Award” from the Maryland chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council. The project team—StonebridgeCarras and Walton Street Capital (developers), WDG Architecture (architect), Paladino (LEED consultant), LORD Green Real Esstate Strategies (energy consultant), and Donohoe (GC)—trimmed water use 40.3% and energy consumption 23.7% over standard code. Nearly three-fourths (74%) of the site is open space. Flats 8300 has a WalkScore of 88 and is seeking LEED Silver certification. The property is owned by Invesco Real Estate and managed by Bozzuto. Photo: Bozzuto
7. RESIDENTS CAN DIP THEIR TOES IN THIS SALTWATER POOL
A saltwater pool forms the centerpiece of The Southerly, a new 175-apartment enterprise in Towson, Md., outside Baltimore. JDavis Architects chose a spherical design for the building to surround the courtyard, which features a grilling area, fire pit, bocce and cornhole courts, and hammocks. A fifth-floor sundeck has a lounge and second café. The Southerly, built by Old Town Construction, attained National Green Building Standard certification. It is located within walking distance of Towson Town Center mall and downtown Towson. Rent base: one-bedroom, $1,595; two-bedroom, $1,850; three-bedroom, $2,275. Photo: Taylor Property Group/Klein Enterprises
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Upscale apartments offer residents a twist on modern history
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Worship center design offers warm and welcoming atmosphere
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Baltimore mixed-use development combines working, living, and shopping
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Mixed-Use on Steroids
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An official bargain, White House loses $79 million in property value
One of the most famous office buildings in the world—and the official the residence of the President of the United States—is now worth only $251.6 million. At the top of the housing boom, the 132-room complex was valued at $331.5 million (still sounds like a bargain), according to Zillow, the online real estate marketplace. That reflects a decline in property value of about 24%.
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Grubb & Ellis predicts commercial real estate recovery
Grubb & Ellis Company, a leading real estate services and investment firm, released its 2011 Real Estate Forecast, which foresees the start of a slow recovery in the leasing market for all property types in the coming year.
