Welcome to Wisteria, a new 33-home community for Nemacolin's luxury resort associates wishing to live where they work. Developed in partnership with 84 Lumber, the nation’s largest privately held building materials supplier, Nemacolin’s Wisteria is one of the nation’s largest residential communities for resort associates that live on the property.
New Luxury Resort Community Wisteria
The Wisteria community features a slew of exclusive amenities, including a market, pub, and fitness center. The development will bring 33 new patio homes to the resort’s pre-existing options of co-living, split, and private apartments. When combined, this will provide housing for approximately 300 Nemacolin associates.
The luxury resort sits on 2,200 acres of land in Farmington, Pa., and touts itself as “a real-life wonderland” offering outdoor adventures, fine dining, and events, according to co-developer 84 Lumber.
“Being situated in rural Pennsylvania, for the type of talent we would like to attract and retain at the resort, we just don’t have something like this in the area, so we built a suburb inside of the resort community itself,” said Trey Matheu, Managing Director, Nemacolin. “We wanted to bring the same level of luxury at the resort to our associate housing.”
Employee Housing History
While Wisteria presents a fresh foray for associate housing in the hospitality sector, the concept itself isn’t new. We’ve seen school districts build workforce housing for its staff in order to curb high turnover rates (influenced by a lack of affordable housing in the area).
One project by the Jefferson Union High School District is the first K-12 school district to pass a bond exclusively to build an affordable housing community for teachers and staff. 705 Serramonte, built specifically for the district’s faculty and staff, provides Bay Area teachers with housing at a fraction of market rate costs—as low as 50 percent.
Meanwhile in the mountainous regions of the U.S., ski resorts and vacation areas have begun building housing for employees as well. The Grand Targhee Resort in Alta, Wyo., constructed 16 units for its staff in response to the influx of people purchasing second homes around the area.
Similar situations have affected workers all over the country—from nurses and laboratory technicians in Bozeman, Mont., to real estate developers in Panama City Beach, Fla. Employee housing benefits workers with a reliable home at a reasonable price, and gives companies the potential of a competitive advantage.
“As the [Nemacolin] property continues to grow and expand, it is crucial that our associates have better and easier access to quality resources and an inviting community to call home,” says Maggie Hardy, Owner and CEO, 84 Lumber.
On the Building Team:
Owner/Developer: Nemacolin, 84 Lumber
Architectural Design: OBA Design
Interior Design: Melissa McLay Interiors
Retail Design: King Retail Solutions
General Contractor: Martik Brothers, Inc.
Related Stories
| Oct 16, 2014
Perkins+Will white paper examines alternatives to flame retardant building materials
The white paper includes a list of 193 flame retardants, including 29 discovered in building and household products, 50 found in the indoor environment, and 33 in human blood, milk, and tissues.
| Oct 15, 2014
Harvard launches ‘design-centric’ center for green buildings and cities
The impetus behind Harvard's Center for Green Buildings and Cities is what the design school’s dean, Mohsen Mostafavi, describes as a “rapidly urbanizing global economy,” in which cities are building new structures “on a massive scale.”
| Oct 12, 2014
AIA 2030 commitment: Five years on, are we any closer to net-zero?
This year marks the fifth anniversary of the American Institute of Architects’ effort to have architecture firms voluntarily pledge net-zero energy design for all their buildings by 2030.
| Sep 24, 2014
Architecture billings see continued strength, led by institutional sector
On the heels of recording its strongest pace of growth since 2007, there continues to be an increasing level of demand for design services signaled in the latest Architecture Billings Index.
| Sep 22, 2014
4 keys to effective post-occupancy evaluations
Perkins+Will's Janice Barnes covers the four steps that designers should take to create POEs that provide design direction and measure design effectiveness.
| Sep 22, 2014
Sound selections: 12 great choices for ceilings and acoustical walls
From metal mesh panels to concealed-suspension ceilings, here's our roundup of the latest acoustical ceiling and wall products.
| Sep 15, 2014
Ranked: Top international AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Parsons Brinckerhoff, Gensler, and Jacobs top BD+C's rankings of U.S.-based design and construction firms with the most revenue from international projects, as reported in the 2014 Giants 300 Report.
| Sep 9, 2014
Using Facebook to transform workplace design
As part of our ongoing studies of how building design influences human behavior in today’s social media-driven world, HOK’s workplace strategists had an idea: Leverage the power of social media to collect data about how people feel about their workplaces and the type of spaces they need to succeed.
| Sep 3, 2014
New designation launched to streamline LEED review process
The LEED Proven Provider designation is designed to minimize the need for additional work during the project review process.
| Sep 2, 2014
Ranked: Top green building sector AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
AECOM, Gensler, and Turner top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest green design and construction firms.