Set in a historic district in the middle of the city of New Orleans, the American Can Company Apartments is an adaptive use project that has transformed a long-vacant and decaying landmark industrial complex into a vibrant apartment community with neighborhood commercial amenities. The former factory complex now contains 268 apartments,20 percent of which are set aside for low- and moderate-income residents, plus a flexible, 20,000-square-foot (1,858-square-meter) commercial/retail area and parking for 430 cars.
Rehabilitation and conversion of a historic 323,000-square-foot cotton mill into 287 apartment and condominium units. The mill includes six large three-and four-story structures that ring an entire city block, creating a 25,000 square-foot courtyard at the project’s interior. Special care was taken to maintain the historical and industrial feel of the property, both for aesthetic reasons and to secure historic preservation tax credits. The original wood floor was retained and restored, and units feature exposed interior walls and timbers. The project’s massive five-by-12-foot double-hung cypress windows were stripped and repaired. The developer also sponsored an initiative to salvage objects from the mill to create on-site sculptures.
Formerly the main headquarters of the Milan branch of the Italian Postal Service, Bergognone 53 is a cluster of four separate buildings sitting on 1.2 hectares (0.5 acre) of land. The buildings range in height from five to nine stories. The structures’ original early-1960s modern, Functionalist style was updated and numerous sustainable features were added to reduce energy consumption. A glass facade placed in front of the glass curtain wall on the south side of one of the buildings forms a “double skin” of panes that acts as a permanent sunscreen and provides both thermal and acoustic insulation. The project also employs chilled support beams as an energy-efficient means to assist cooling, and solar panels on the roofs generate electricity for the common areas and lighting in the parking garage. International financial advisory services firm Deloitte Touche occupies the entire complex and on the first floor a kindergarten is being established that will be primarily for the children of Deloitte employees.
The San Elijo Hills Town Center is the 70-acre (28.3-hectare), mixed-use core of San Elijo Hills, a 1,920-acre (777-hectare) master-planned development located in San Marcos, about 40 miles (64.4 kilometers) north of San Diego. The Town Center includes a public school with an attached public library, live/work units, condominiums, and townhouses, and when complete will also contain a church, additional condominiums located above 65,000 square feet (6,038.5 square meters) of retail space, and a 49,000-square-foot (4,552-square-meter) grocery store. All of these uses are oriented around a town square. Designed by Calthorpe Associates and developed by HomeFed Corporation, the San Elijo Hills Town Center relies on sets of one-way roads (called couplets) instead of standard arterials to circulate traffic.
Crawford Square is an 18-acre residential development located on the eastern edge of downtown Pittsburgh that provides a gateway between the downtown business district and the nearby Hill District and creates a new and vital neighborhood recalling the architectural traditions of the neighborhoods to which it is connected. Crawford Square provides quality mixed-income housing in a friendly, pedestrian-oriented neighborhood to residents with a wide range of incomes. The project’s street grid is an extension of the Hill District street grid, stitched into the fabric of the existing community.
A 55-story, 1.5 million-square-foot office tower, developed on a steeply sloping, full city block in downtown Seattle. The project incorporates a historic building into its base and also has direct links to a bus tunnel under and adjacent street. The building, which is 98 percent leased, was completed in April 1988.
The ¥270 billion (US$2.47 billion) Roppongi Hills project, also known as the Roppongi 6-chome Redevelopment project, is the largest private sector redevelopment ever completed in Japan. Covering approximately 11.6 hectares (28.7 acres) of prime real estate in the Minato Ward, Roppongi Hills integrates office, residential, and retail uses, a hotel, a TV broadcasting studio, and cultural functions, such as a museum, with parks and plazas that constitute the majority of open space. Jointly developed by Mori Building Company and the Roppongi 6-chome Redevelopment Association, this urban regeneration scheme aims to create a true cultural center.
The Consumer’s Biscuit Company building–a four-story, 80,000-square-foot (7,432-sq-m) structure located in the Warehouse District of New Orleans–was vacant by the time HRI Properties purchased it in 1992. That year, HRI, a New Orleans-based development firm specializing in adaptive use of historic buildings, converted the edifice–which it named the Bakery–into 66 apartments. A market study conducted by real estate consultant Herbert/Smolkin Associates accurately projected that the building would be 90 percent leased within nine months of its opening., , In 2003, HRI again converted the building, this time to condominiums. The conversion fit HRI’s mission, which has been to revitalize cities by creating diverse, vibrant, and sustainable communities. Its approach to redevelopment is holistic, incorporating community needs, historic preservation, and community and economic revitalization. HRI employs staff professionals in all areas of development, including architecture, financing, construction, and residential management.
The Plaza Apartments is a nine-story mixed-use building located near downtown San Francisco that contains 106 studio apartments rented to people who, prior to moving in, were chronically homeless. Developed by the Public Initiatives Development Corporation–a wholly owned subsidiary of the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency–it provides its residents with on-site access to social services Including five case managers, a psychiatrist, and a nurse practitioner. In addition to dwelling units, the structure contains almost 2,000 square feet (186 sq m) of retail space and a 99-seat performing arts venue. The LEED-Silver-certified building has many green features such as recycled carpeting, low- or no-VOC paints and finishes, and a 26-kilowatt photovoltaic system on the roof.
In Irvine, California–the heart of affluent Orange County–Montecito Vista is a 162-unit garden-style apartment complex that is home to those earning between 30 and 50 percent of the area median income. Developed by Jamboree Housing Corporation, a nonprofit housing firm, the seven three-story walk-up buildings are sited on 7.03 acres (2.84 hectares) of land leased from the Irvine Company. Providing much-needed residential alternatives, the two- and three-bedroom units rent from $461 to $1,190 per month, which is less than the median gross rent of $1,272 for the county.
