The booming multifamily sector shows no signs of a significant slowdown heading into 2023. Here is a round up of Giants 400 firms that are driving innovation in this sector:
Clayco and architecture firm FitzGerald completed the 20-story, 330-unit X Phoenix development, a mixed-use residential high-rise in downtown Phoenix that contains, among other rental units, dedicated space for co-living. This shared apartment model is designed to cater to working professionals seeking convenience, community, and modern shared amenity space at more attainable prices in expensive rental markets. The development also includes an indoor bike mezzanine, 105,500-gallon pool, five-story parking garage, and 50,000 sf of shell space that will include a commercial restaurant.
Dahlin Group developed a tiny home prototype, Mod Hive, to help address the affordable housing shortage in Salt Lake City. The prototype works as a small cluster on one lot or a small, planned development consisting of multiple lots. The concept involves an inward-looking site plan that creates a tiny village with space for a community garden, outdoor gathering space, and barbecue/firepit. It replicates the feel of a traditional neighborhood of two-story, single-family detached homes by employing a lower-density configuration at the front of the lot, with higher densities at the rear.
For another tiny house project, Dahlin collaborated with HomeAid Northern California and Firm Foundation Community Housing to design cost-effective tiny home villages sited on church properties, targeted at individuals facing homelessness. This partnership completed its pilot project in February 2020 with additional projects under development in 2021. In the San Francisco Bay Area, affordable multifamily developers expect to spend $700,000 to $1 million per single one-bedroom unit; the pilot village came in at $150,000-$170,000 per unit, with an entitlement process of just 12-18 months.
Dattner Architects had four Passive House projects progress through construction stages in 2021, with Santaella Gardens completed in late 2021 and receiving Passive House Certification in early 2022. These projects provide replicable models for Passive House applications to multifamily affordable housing. Santaella Gardens provides much needed workforce and affordable housing in the Bronx. Its super-insulated, airtight building envelope includes thermally broken, high-performance windows and advanced air sealing details to eliminate condensation and air exfiltration. Rooftop solar photovoltaic panels generate onsite renewable energy, with a capacity of 162.7 kW. The building has a projected energy use intensity of 20.40 kBTU/sqft/yr.
The Hall Arts Residences in the Dallas Arts District joins HKS’s growing portfolio of projects focused on creating superior spaces for the health and well-being of building occupants. The project is the first residential project in Texas to register for WELL Multifamily Certification.
Morrison Hershfield contributed to the launch of the Embodied Carbon Pathfinder, a free app for quickly estimating cradle-to-grave whole-building life cycle assessment results for multifamily buildings. The tool uses thousands of data points that allow users to find “pathways” through design choices to land on a target embodied carbon result. The project is a collaboration with OPEN Technologies and the Athena Institute.
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| Jan 27, 2011
Perkins Eastman's report on senior housing signals a changing market
Top international design and architecture firm Perkins Eastman is pleased to announce that the Perkins Eastman Research Collaborative recently completed the “Design for Aging Review 10 Insights and Innovations: The State of Senior Housing” study for the American Institute of Architects (AIA). The results of the comprehensive study reflect the changing demands and emerging concepts that are re-shaping today’s senior living industry.
| Jan 21, 2011
Harlem facility combines social services with retail, office space
Harlem is one of the first neighborhoods in New York City to combine retail with assisted living. The six-story, 50,000-sf building provides assisted living for residents with disabilities and a nonprofit group offering services to minority groups, plus retail and office space.
| Jan 21, 2011
Nothing dinky about these residences for Golden Gophers
The Sydney Hall Student Apartments combines 125 student residences with 15,000 sf of retail space in the University of Minnesota’s historic Dinkytown neighborhood, in Minneapolis.
| Jan 21, 2011
Revamped hotel-turned-condominium building holds on to historic style
The historic 89,000-sf Hotel Stowell in Los Angeles was reincarnated as the El Dorado, a 65-unit loft condominium building with retail and restaurant space. Rockefeller Partners Architects, El Segundo, Calif., aimed to preserve the building’s Gothic-Art Nouveau combination style while updating it for modern living.
| Jan 21, 2011
Upscale apartments offer residents a twist on modern history
The Goodwynn at Town: Brookhaven, a 433,300-sf residential and retail building in DeKalb County, Ga., combines a historic look with modern amenities. Atlanta-based project architect Niles Bolton Associates used contemporary materials in historic patterns and colors on the exterior, while concealing a six-level parking structure on the interior.
| Jan 20, 2011
Worship center design offers warm and welcoming atmosphere
The Worship Place Studio of local firm Ziegler Cooper Architects designed a new 46,000-sf church complex for the Pare de Sufrir parish in Houston.
| Jan 19, 2011
Baltimore mixed-use development combines working, living, and shopping
The Shoppes at McHenry Row, a $117 million mixed-use complex developed by 28 Walker Associates for downtown Baltimore, will include 65,000 sf of office space, 250 apartments, and two parking garages. The 48,000 sf of main street retail space currently is 65% occupied, with space for small shops and a restaurant remaining.
| Jan 7, 2011
Mixed-Use on Steroids
Mixed-use development has been one of the few bright spots in real estate in the last few years. Successful mixed-use projects are almost always located in dense urban or suburban areas, usually close to public transportation. It’s a sign of the times that the residential component tends to be rental rather than for-sale.
| Jan 4, 2011
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%.
