Home designs take aim at Generation Y

Project #2 - Maximizing density and livability

The “woonerfs” or “living streets” of Amsterdam influenced the design of Hazel 8, new rental apartments on the Case Western University campus. This rendering depicts one of the internal thoroughfares where pedestrian and vehicular traffic mix. Illustrations: Kephart

Small infill sites in urban areas offer great opportunities to serve Gen Y renters. Take, for example, Case Western University in Cleveland, located in an art and museum district, adjacent to two medical campuses, and across the street from the Cleveland Institute of Music.
When a shortage of student housing prompted University Circle (a conglomerate that controls the university properties) to consider building new apartments on-site, a group of architects was invited to submit ideas for the project. The contract was awarded to Kephart, a Denver-based architecture and community planning firm. Kephart adapted its conceptual design for small apartments for the Case Western project, now known as Hazel 8.

“There was a little stigma about bringing student rentals to this high-profile site,” says Kephart’s John Binder. “We thought we could cater to a slightly different profile with market-rate apartments that have their own front doors, similar to a single-family residence or townhouse.”

Another challenge was to maximize the density of the 1.3-acre site, which was formerly a parking lot. Kephart achieved 45 DUA with 59 total apartments, nearly twice the density of a typical garden-apartment community. Consisting of two-story apartments above one-story flats, the wood-frame buildings are also less costly to construct than concrete or steel, Binder says.

“We ended up with a 1-to-1 parking ratio, most of it alley-loaded, one-car garages beneath the apartments,” says Binder. Following a campus precedent, he created internal thoroughfares for garage and apartment access (it’s not unusual to have a garage on one side of the alley and a front door on the other).

“Except for a resident lounge, there are no common corridors or areas to heat and cool,” he says. “Interior stairs lead to the apartments. We’re trading out the efficiency of common corridors for a bit more expensive construction that allows us to get 45 units to the acre.”

WXZ Development of Fairview Park, Ohio, is developing Hazel 8, which is under construction and scheduled to start leasing this summer.

Kephart designed two-story apartments over one-story flats, with interior stairways for access. One-car garages are on the ground floor. Illustration: Westlake Reed Leskosky