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
| Dec 17, 2010
Toronto church converted for condos and shopping
Reserve Properties is transforming a 20th-century church into Bellefair Kew Beach Residences, a residential/retail complex in The Beach neighborhood of Toronto. Local architecture firm RAWdesign adapted the late Gothic-style church into a five-story condominium with 23 one- and two-bedroom units, including two-story penthouse suites. Six three-story townhouses also will be incorporated. The project will afford residents views of nearby Kew Gardens and Lake Ontario. One façade of the church was updated for retail shops.
| Dec 7, 2010
Prospects for multifamily sector improve greatly
The multifamily sector is showing signs of a real recovery, with nearly 22,000 new apartment units delivered to the market. Net absorption in the third quarter surged by 94,000 units, dropping the national vacancy rate from 7.8% to 7.1%, one of the largest quarterly drops on record, and rents increased for the second quarter in a row.
| Nov 3, 2010
Senior housing will be affordable, sustainable
Horizons at Morgan Hill, a 49-unit affordable senior housing community in Morgan Hill, Calif., was designed by KTGY Group and developed by Urban Housing Communities. The $21.2 million, three-story building will offer 36 one-bed/bath units (773 sf) and 13 two-bed/bath units (1,025 sf) on a 2.6-acre site.
| Nov 3, 2010
Rotating atriums give Riyadh’s first Hilton an unusual twist
Goettsch Partners, in collaboration with Omrania & Associates (architect of record) and David Wrenn Interiors (interior designer), is serving as design architect for the five-star, 900-key Hilton Riyadh.
| Nov 1, 2010
Sustainable, mixed-income housing to revitalize community
The $41 million Arlington Grove mixed-use development in St. Louis is viewed as a major step in revitalizing the community. Developed by McCormack Baron Salazar with KAI Design & Build (architect, MEP, GC), the project will add 112 new and renovated mixed-income rental units (market rate, low-income, and public housing) totaling 162,000 sf, plus 5,000 sf of commercial/retail space.
| Nov 1, 2010
Vancouver’s former Olympic Village shoots for Gold
The first tenants of the Millennium Water development in Vancouver, B.C., were Olympic athletes competing in the 2010 Winter Games. Now the former Olympic Village, located on a 17-acre brownfield site, is being transformed into a residential neighborhood targeting LEED ND Gold. The buildings are expected to consume 30-70% less energy than comparable structures.
| Oct 13, 2010
Apartment complex will offer affordable green housing
Urban Housing Communities, KTGY Group, and the City of Big Bear Lake (Calif.) Improvement Agency are collaborating on The Crossings at Big Bear Lake, the first apartment complex in the city to offer residents affordable, eco-friendly homes. KTGY designed 28 two-bedroom, two-story townhomes and 14 three-bedroom, single-story flats, averaging 1,100 sf each.
| Oct 13, 2010
Residences bring students, faculty together in the Middle East
A new residence complex is in design for United Arab Emirates University in Al Ain, UAE, near Abu Dhabi. Plans for the 120-acre mixed-use development include 710 clustered townhomes and apartments for students and faculty and common areas for community activities.
| Oct 13, 2010
Community center under way in NYC seeks LEED Platinum
A curving, 550-foot-long glass arcade dubbed the “Wall of Light” is the standout architectural and sustainable feature of the Battery Park City Community Center, a 60,000-sf complex located in a two-tower residential Lower Manhattan complex. Hanrahan Meyers Architects designed the glass arcade to act as a passive energy system, bringing natural light into all interior spaces.
| Oct 12, 2010
The Watch Factory, Waltham, Mass.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards — Gold Award. When the Boston Watch Company opened its factory in 1854 on the banks of the Charles River in Waltham, Mass., the area was far enough away from the dust, dirt, and grime of Boston to safely assemble delicate watch parts.