1. MODULAR CONSTRUCTION SAVES COSTS ON 72-unit affordable housing community in Portland, Ore.
Argyle Gardens provides 72 units of affordable housing for formerly homeless individuals and low-income residents of Portland, Ore. The modular construction offers a co-housing approach and small unit sizes to achieve development costs 31% below typical affordable housing projects. The project consists of four buildings oriented around a central outdoor space. The largest building encapsulates 36 studio apartment units, plus a large community space with laundry facilities and support service offices. The three co-housing buildings use the single room occupancy model and feature two six-bedroom pods, each of which has two shared bathrooms and a kitchen. The project team: Transition Projects (sponsor); Housing Development Center (development consultant); Holst Architecture (architect); All Structure (SE); KPFF (CE); MFIA (mechanical engineer); Sarnata (electrical engineer); Acoustic Design Studio (acoustics); Earth Advantage (sustainability consultant); 2.ink (landscape architect); MODS PDX (modular design and construction); and Walsh Construction Co. (GC).
2. CANTILEVERED POOL and elaborate landscaping at HONOLULU SKYSCRAPER
Lead architect SCB (Solomon Cordwell Buenz) assigned San Francisco–based Surfacedesign to conceive the landscape features for Anaha, a 40-story condominium tower in Honolulu for The Howard Hughes Corporation. The 317-unit residential structure has a cantilevered glass-bottom pool sticking out at the 7th floor deck and a lobby with the largest living wall in Hawaii, 15 feet high by 80 feet wide, composed of more than 8,000 native plants. Other team members: Benjamin Woo Architects (AOR), Brownlie & Lee (landscape architectural assistance), Takano Nakamura Landscaping (landscape contractor), Green Living Technologies (green wall), Pacific Aquascapes (swimming pool contractor), and Albert C. Kobayashi, Inc. (GC).
ALSO SEE: 8 noteworthy multifamily projects to debut in 2020
3. ABANDONED FLORIDA OFFICE BUILDING turnED INTO 134 APARTMENTS AND TOWNHOMES
McShane Construction Company completed 1100 Apex, recycling an abandoned 15-story office building into 134 apartment and townhome residences in downtown Clearwater, Fla., for GSP Development. McShane used its design-build MEP/FP approach to save $2.6 million in construction materials costs. The complex has a clubhouse, fitness center, putting green, pool, outdoor lounge area with grills, a fire pit, private cabanas, a 202-space parking deck, and 4,300 sf of retail space. Kimmich Smith Architecture was the designer.
4. LUXURY HIGH-RISE IN NORTHEAST MINNEAPOLIS ain’t NO TURKEY
Cuningham Group (architecture, concept design, interior design) and Mortenson Development delivered Rafter, a 283-unit luxury apartment community in Northeast Minneapolis, a neighborhood marked by historic buildings, a hip art scene, and yes, rafters of wild turkeys. The 26-story, 407,530-sf, pet-friendly enterprise has studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom floor plans, including penthouse options, plus a dog wash station and a seven-story, 279-space attached parking structure.
5. SENIOR LIVING comes WITH Many CARE OPTIONS
The Residences of Crystal Lake, a 63,000-sf affordable independent senior living facility in Crystal Lake, Ill., 50 miles northwest of Chicago. Its 48 one-bedroom and 12 two-bedroom units include six ADA-accessible units, 12 adaptable units, and two sensory units (https://bit.ly/3jpHi1S). The project team for developers DKI and TH Associates: UrbanWorks (architect), Groundwork (CE), and Skender (GC).
6. RENTAL COMPLEX HAS MIAMI BEACH’S FIRST TRADER JOE’S grocery
At five stories, 17 West, designed by Stantec (AOR/interior designer for common areas) and Touzet Studio, has 23 apartments (one to three bedrooms), a pooltop deck, 193 parking spaces, and the first Trader Joe’s grocery in Miami Beach, Fla. The developers: Turnberry Associates, Elion Partners, and the Sredni family. Grycon was the GC.
7. AFFORDABLE RENTALS FOR ARTISTS IN SANTA ANA, CALIF., collective
Meta Housing Corporation and Studio One Eleven have adapted a 1965 office building into 100% affordable studios and one-, two-, and three-bedroom live-work lofts, plus 10 new two- and three-bedroom townhomes near the Santa Ana, Calif., arts district. The $15 million, 58-unit Santa Ana Arts Collective offers art, dance, and music studios and an art gallery. Units range from 512 to 1,300 sf. Ten apartments have rents ranging from $448 to $666/month; the rest are priced from $1,345 to $1,998/month. Westport Construction was the GC.
8. LUXURY RENTALS grace a RANCH-STYLE luxury COMMUNITY in texas
KWA Construction (GC) and Studio A Architecture (architect) completed The Village at Rayzor Ranch, a 300-unit luxury apartment community at Rayzor Ranch Town Center, a walkable 400-acre planned development in Denton, Texas. Developer EPC Real Estate Group offers tenants complimentary concierge services, a resort-style pool, bocce courts, cornhole boards, a massage/sauna spa, a fitness/yoga studio, coworking studios, a dog park/grooming station, and, most notably, pickleball courts.
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
REDD and Corcoran Group Real Estate developing eco-friendly boutique condos in Brooklyn's Vinegar Hill
REDD and Corcoran Group Real Estate are developing 100 Gold, a 10-unit boutique condominium complex in Brooklyn's Vinegar Hill that consists of (6) one bedrooms, (2) duplex studios—one with a private yard, and (2) penthouses—duplex apartments with one bedroom and loft, and private terraces.
| Aug 11, 2010
AECOM, Arup, Gensler most active in commercial building design, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 100 Commercial Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Turner Building Cost Index dips nearly 4% in second quarter 2009
Turner Construction Company announced that the second quarter 2009 Turner Building Cost Index, which measures nonresidential building construction costs in the U.S., has decreased 3.35% from the first quarter 2009 and is 8.92% lower than its peak in the second quarter of 2008. The Turner Building Cost Index number for second quarter 2009 is 837.
| Aug 11, 2010
AGC unveils comprehensive plan to revive the construction industry
The Associated General Contractors of America unveiled a new plan today designed to revive the nation’s construction industry. The plan, “Build Now for the Future: A Blueprint for Economic Growth,” is designed to reverse predictions that construction activity will continue to shrink through 2010, crippling broader economic growth.
| Aug 11, 2010
PCL Construction, HITT Contracting among nation's largest commercial building contractors, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 50 Commercial Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Webcor, Hunt Construction lead the way in mixed-use construction, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 30 Mixed-Use Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Report: Fraud levels fall for construction industry, but companies still losing $6.4 million on average
The global construction, engineering and infrastructure industry saw a significant decline in fraud activity with companies losing an average of $6.4 million over the last three years, according to the latest edition of the Kroll Annual Global Fraud Report, released today at the Association of Corporate Counsel’s 2009 Annual Meeting in Boston. This new figure represents less than half of last year’s amount of $14.2 million.
| Aug 11, 2010
First CityCenter projects earn LEED Gold
CityCenter announced today that it has received three Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design LEED Gold certifications from the U.S. Green Building Council for: 1) ARIA Resort's hotel tower; 2) ARIA Resort's convention center and theater; 3) Vdara Hotel. ARIA and Vdara will open in December on the Las Vegas Strip and are the first of CityCenter's developments to be LEED certified.
| Aug 11, 2010
Oldcastle Precast Building Systems wins PCI 2009 Sustainable Design Award
Oldcastle Precast Building Systems was part of the award winning team behind the affordable housing development Melrose Commons Site 5 situated in the South Bronx. PCI (Precast Concrete Institute) recently selected Melrose 5 for the “2009 PCI Design Award for Best Sustainable Project”.