1. AWARD-WINNING NYC TOWERS PACKED WITH AMENITIES
GID Development Group’s Waterline Square, a three-tower, luxury residential development on West 61st Street in Manhattan, received the NAHB’s Multifamily Pillars of the Industry Awards for Best High-Rise Apartment Community. Rafael Viñoly Architects, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, and Richard Meier & Partners Architects designed the towers; Hill West Architects was the AOR. Champalimaud Design, Yabu Pushelberg, and Groves & Co. did the interiors. Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects created the 2.6-acre outdoor park. AECOM Tishman was the GC.
The 100,000-sf Waterline Club, designed by the Rockwell Group, holds a children’s playroom, an art studio, a music studio, a regulation-size indoor tennis court, and an indoor skate park. The curving maple staircases in the lounge were crafted by Hewes & Co. and Jaroff Design. One- to four-bedroom units in the base of the three towers run $4,130/month and up.
Photos: Noe & Associates (skate park); Evan Joseph (lobby)
2. TWISTING TOWER RISES IN SEATTLE
NEXUS is a 440-foot luxury tower encompassing 389 condominium residences in downtown Seattle. The 41-story tower consists of stacked and rotated boxes that twist a total of eight degrees as the building rises. Amenities include a topl-floor sky lounge, catering kitchen, rooftop deck, gym, yoga room, dog lounge, media room, and coworking spaces. Weber Thompson (architect, interior designer, landscape architect) led the project team for developer Burrard: KPFF (SE), Magnusson Klemencic Associates (CE), Rushing (MEP/FP, lighting), Morrison Hershfield (building envelope), A3 Acoustics (acoustical consultant), and Skanska (GC).
Photo: Lucas Finlay Photography
3. WEST OAKLAND RENTAL COMPLEX provides 30 WORK-LIVE APARTMENTS
LDP Architecture and Dettaglio Construction completed Hollis Oak, a $51 million rental community for Madison Park Financial Corporation, in West Oakland, Calif. The two-acre site has 30 work/live units (750 to 2,100 sf) and 94 apartments: 12 studios, 14 one-bedrooms, 53 two-bedrooms, and 15 three-bedrooms. Two four-story buildings are bisected by a private mews. Artwork (inset) by Stephen Anderson, with fabricator SMA Events and Local Edition.Marketing.
Photos: Bernard Andre
4. HISTORIC HOTEL NOW OFFERS MARKET-RATE RENTALS near yosemite
When it opened in downtown Merced, Calif., in 1928, the Renaissance-style Hotel Tioga offered respite to guests—among them Eleanor Roosevelt, President Kennedy, and Marilyn Monroe—headed to Yosemite National Park. Now a team led by Page & Turnbull (architect) has converted the $15 million, 73,670-sf structure into The Tioga, 70 market-rate apartments—6 studio, 50 one-bedroom, and 14 two-bedroom residences—for developer Hotel Tioga Investors LLC. Amenities include food service, housekeeping, and assigned parking. The Tioga is now listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Other project team firms: Studio Hatch (interiors), Murphy Burr Curry (SE), KPFF (CE), Fard Engineers (MEP), Holmes Fire (code consultant), and Swinerton (GC).
Photos: Chad Davies, courtesy Page & Turnbull
5. TIGHT SITE LEADS TO Y-SHAPED APARTMENT STRUCTURE in redmond
Modera Redmond is an unusual Y-shaped massing of 300 residential units on a 1.8-acre lot. Residents can take advantage of two outdoor courtyards (totaling 8,000 sf) and 3,000 sf of amenities, including a movie screening room, a bike repair/wash station, an automated package concierge, and the first rooftop deck in Redmond, Wash. Studio and one- and two-bedroom apartments (477 to 1,233 sf) are appointed with premium vinyl laminate floors, stainless steel and slate appliances, and quartz countertops. Mill Creek Residential Trust (developer, GC) headed the team of Tiscarneo Associates (architect), Lair Design (interiors), Yu & Trochalakis (SE), Bush, Roed & Hitchings (CE), and Brumbaugh & Associates (landscape architect).
Photos: Moris Moreno
6. RENTAL COMPLEX IN RHYTHM WITH AUSTIN’S TECH-ORIENTED LIFESTYLE
Charlan Brock Associates designed Rhythm Apartments, a 262-unit venue in northwest Austin, Texas, near the city’s Tech Row, for developer/builder HPI Residential. Commercial interior designer Britt Design Group designed the game room, a fourth-floor media lounge, a 7,500-sf clubhouse, and a business center that offers Rhythm’s work-from-home residents work pods, built-in desks, a freestanding banquette with powered table, and a conference room. Other amenities: bike storage and repair, a pet park and grooming station, and a community garden. Also on the project team: Sterling Engineering (SE), Griffin Engineering Group (CE), and NMW Partners (MEP).
Photos: Matt Batista
7. U.S. RESIDENTIAL DEBUT FOR OMA’S REM KOOLHAAS
Terra and The Related Group have completed One Park Grove, Coconut Grove, Fla. The 23-story tower (at right in photo), the first residential undertaking in the U.S. for Rem Koolhaas and his firm, OMA, completes the three-tower, 271-unit Park Grove community. Its 66 waterfront residences are surrounded by multilevel gardens and a two-acre private park by landscape architect Enzo Enea. An outdoor amphitheater, a private screening room, a wine tasting room with private bottle storage, indoor/outdoor yoga, and a children’s playroom round out the amenities. Other project firms: Arquitectonica (executive architect), Desimone Consulting Engineers (SE), Feller Engineering (MEP), Meyer Davis Studio (interiors), William Sofield (kitchen/bath design), and John Moriarty & Associates (GC).
Photo: Robin Hill
8. AGRARIAN-STYLE RENTAL COMMUNITY WITH MULTIPLE ENERGY-SAVING SYSTEMS
Oriole Landing, a 60-unit mixed-income community in Lincoln, Mass., features the historic Dexter C. Harris farmhouse (1873), which was restored and relocated to the property. Fifteen apartments have been set aside for renters making 80% of AMI; 10 of the affordable units were set aside for township residents, employees, and families with children in the Lincoln Public Schools. Designed by Civico Development (with AOR Olinger Architects) and constructed by Bald Hill Builders, Oriole Landing has a community garden, solar panels, ductless mini-split heat pumps, individual energy recovery ventilation systems, and an electric vehicle charging station. The project achieved LEED for Homes v4 certification.
Photo courtesy Civico Development
9. SUPPORTIVE HOUSING FOR PREVIOUSLY HOMElesS IN FLORIDA
Warley Park is a $19 million garden apartment community of 81 one- and two-bedroom units for the homeless from developer Wendover Housing Partners. Located on 4½ acres in Sanford, it is Central Florida’s first permanent supportive housing community. Residents can receive healthcare, employment, and childcare services and take GED, life skill, and commercial cooking classes, all managed by California nonprofit Step Up on Second Street. Slocum Platts Architects (designer) and Roger B. Kennedy Construction (GC) teamed up on Warley Park.
Photo courtesy Wendover Housing Partners
10. SUSTAINABILITY FEATURES HIGHLIGHT MID-RISE in Nashville’s gulch view
Illume offers 77 one- and two- bedroom residences (700-1,300 sf) in Nashville’s Gulch View neighborhood. Local architect/developer The Bradley Projects incorporated high-efficiency split HVAC systems, a fully drainable EIFS system, a green roof, and a stormwater treatment system. Also on the project team: Brewer Engineers and Consulting Services (SE), Fulmer Lucas Engineering (CE), Harpeth Park Engineering (mechanical/plumbing), Parsons Engineering (electrical), V&V Construction (EIFS installation), Lithko Contracting (concrete contactor), and Certified Construction Services (GC).
Photos: Emily DeSimon, SQFT Photography, www.sqftnashville.com
Related Stories
| Jan 4, 2011
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.
| Dec 17, 2010
Condominium and retail building offers luxury and elegance
The 58-story Austonian in Austin, Texas, is the tallest residential building in the western U.S. Benchmark Development, along with Ziegler Cooper Architects and Balfour Beatty (GC), created the 850,000-sf tower with 178 residences, retail space, a 6,000-sf fitness center, and a 10th-floor outdoor area with a 75-foot saltwater lap pool and spa, private cabanas, outdoor kitchens, and pet exercise and grooming areas.
| Dec 17, 2010
Luxury condos built for privacy
A new luxury condominium tower in Los Angeles, The Carlyle has 24 floors with 78 units. Each of the four units on each floor has a private elevator foyer. The top three floors house six 5,000-sf penthouses that offer residents both indoor and outdoor living space. KMD Architects designed the 310,000-sf structure, and Elad Properties was project developer.
| Dec 17, 2010
Vietnam business center will combine office and residential space
The 300,000-sm VietinBank Business Center in Hanoi, Vietnam, designed by Foster + Partners, will have two commercial towers: the first, a 68-story, 362-meter office tower for the international headquarters of VietinBank; the second, a five-star hotel, spa, and serviced apartments. A seven-story podium with conference facilities, retail space, restaurants, and rooftop garden will connect the two towers. Eco-friendly features include using recycled heat from the center’s power plant to provide hot water, and installing water features and plants to improve indoor air quality. Turner Construction Co. is the general contractor.
| 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.