Projects
The Grove at Meadowood Senior Living
Worcester, PA
The next step in implementing the Meadowood campus master plan involved adding a new independent living residential offering on a portion of the existing senior living campus. Four hybrid home buildings, each comprised of two floors of residences over under-building parking, surround a new campus pond, fire pit, seating areas, and pergola to be enjoyed by the entire community.
The 52 residences range between 1300-1800 SF and each has its own corner view that allows in ample daylight. Each unit also features a balcony or patio in addition to contemporary features, full laundry rooms, and walk-in closets in each bedroom. Each floor is also anchored by a central seating area where residents can gather to socialize.
Learn More About Hybrid HomesPhoto Credit: Nathan Cox Photography
Sycamore Square Hybrid Homes at Masonic Village
Elizabethtown, PA
Masonic Village in Elizabethtown has a scenic 2,500-acre campus with abundant space for a mix of cottages and apartments. The community was looking for something fresh and new to offer as independent housing that could be added incrementally. The design result was a new style of hybrid homes on the perimeter of the campus. Constructed in two phases, the Sycamore Square hybrid homes are four, 3-story wood framed structures, each with 12 apartments and modest gathering areas. Based on positive marketing results for these new residences, located in easy walking distance to Elizabethtown amenities, there was no break between phases.
Hybrid Homes 2.0
The Sycamore Square hybrids feature a new approach to covered parking. Each residence has a private garage in lieu of a podium-style, under-building parking garage. Providing separate garages with individual doors eliminates the needs for a solid concrete-and-steel floor above, thereby reducing the construction cost. As is typical for hybrid homes, each residence is positioned for multi-directional views and includes a private balcony.
Smart Homes
Masonic Village is committed to technology that provides added conveniences, fosters opportunities for social connections and supports aging in place. Each apartment is equipped with smart technology and residents receive an iPad to access built-in and optional features. Home automation options include motion sensors with light activation, safety sensors, light switches and thermostats that can be programmed and controlled through any mobile device and an online portal with access to dining menus, campus updates, event calendars, games, photo/video sharing and more.
Construction photos courtesy of Wohlsen Construction
Emerald Terraces at Village on the Isle
Venice, FL
The first of their kind in Florida, the Emerald Terraces introduced a new hybrid housing model to the Village on the Isle campus. The Emerald Terraces have parking on the ground floor, as well as covered sidewalk access to community center amenities. Each residence functions as a corner unit with multi-directional views and the added benefit of private lanais without visual or noise distractions from neighbors.
A Community within a Community
Each hybrid building includes a top floor community room for residents to gather together or entertain guests. The main clubroom area features a flexible great room space with a catering kitchen, comfortable seating, tables, stackable chairs and a large screen television. A sliding barn door leads into a modest fitness room that provides residents with easy access to wellness equipment. Retractable walls in both the clubroom and fitness area provide a seamless outdoor connection and enable events to spill out onto the large outdoor deck.
Age-Friendly Design for Hybrid Homes
Each building has 23 one- and two-bedroom residences ranging from approximately 1,250 square feet to 1,600 square feet of living space in an open floor plan. The residences are carefully detailed in accordance with universal design principles for people of varying ages and abilities without compromising the upscale residential design aesthetic. Accessibility, from door clearances to space templates, is designed into all homes to accommodate active residents, those who require assistance from a spouse or caregiver, and those who utilize wheelchairs or scooters to maintain their independent mobility. Supportive features such as elevated vanities and extra blocking in walls to accommodate shower grab rails, if needed, are discreetly integrated into the contemporary design.
Sustainable Design Features
Energy efficient, hurricane impact-resident windows and doors, continuous insulation, LED lighting and energy star appliances are just a few of the features built into the homes. Low or zero emitting floor coverings, paints, adhesives and composite woods have been specified as well as recycled content and regionally extracted and manufactured materials. Locating parking on the first floor under the homes offers the additional benefits of less impervious surface space being needed.
Learn More About Hybrid HomesRLPS really takes an owner’s position in the planning and design process—they took the time to understand our needs way before “putting a pencil to any paper.”
Joel Anderson, CEO
Photo Credit: Nathan Cox Photography
The Crescent at Oakleaf Village
Toledo, OH
Hybrid Homes 2.0
Wallick Communities wanted to add a new independent living component to the Oakleaf Village of Toledo community, comprised of a recently introduced memory care residence and a 1980s era building providing licensed residential living and assisted living. The new housing needed to meet consumer expectations for abundant daylight, open floor plans and covered parking while maintaining affordability for older adults in this Midwestern working class area. And it had to fit on a 1.46 acre site. The design result is two parallel hybrid home apartment buildings with a connected dining pavilion between them. These three buildings form The Crescent, a micro rental housing community for active seniors.
Maintaining Affordability
The smaller size of the individual hybrid home buildings compared to a traditional apartment building allowed for more economical wood-frame construction. The individual apartments are relatively small, ranging from 842 to 1,156 square feet, yet the design maintains marketable features such as open floor plans and wood-look luxury vinyl tile in the main living spaces to make the spaces feel larger and spacious tile shower with frameless glass door systems to help maximize the experience of the modest size bathroom. Private garage parking and carport options are available for a separate fee which helps keep the base costs down.
Integrating Amenities for Market Appeal
Recognizing that the minimal amenities in the existing building would not appeal to today’s consumers, the design team was challenged to create a community-within-a-community. Each upper floor of the hybrid apartment buildings incorporates a different activity area including a woodshop, arts and crafts room, and a beauty shop, as well as fitness centers in both buildings and an employee lounge. The main lobby, a dining venue and living room comprise the pavilion building, which can be accessed from inside the hybrid homes or through an exterior landscaped courtyard. The compact 814 square foot living room features a large fireplace and is equipped with a portable bar, projector/screen and flexible seating to allow for a host of educational seminars, cultural and social events and informal gatherings. The dining room is modestly sized at 1,445 square feet and features a bar, multiple types of seating and a coffee station. Both the dining and living spaces open up to a patio, allowing events to flow through both areas.
Learn More About Hybrid Homes
Landis Homes – Learning & Wellness Center and Crossings Apartments
Lititz, PA
Constructed front and center on an existing campus, these senior living apartments and community center connect lifelong learning, holistic wellness and vibrant community.
Community Front Door for Lifelong Learning and Wellness
Located in the heart of campus and visible from the adjacent roadway, the new Learning and Wellness Center fills the need for a community front door. Designed to be a bustling center of activity where connections flourish, the main floor houses a bistro and lounge, art gallery, salon and spa, business center, bank, pharmacy, and auditorium to support the community’s Pathways Institute for Lifelong Learning® classes and other educational and entertainment programs. Spiritual wellness is encouraged in The Quiet Place, a series of small rooms for meditation. The new center also allowed for a consolidation of administrative offices into one central location.
Fitness Spaces
Fitness spaces are located on the ground floor with both internal access and a separate entrance for residents walking, biking or driving from other parts of campus. This area includes a four-lane lap and therapy pool and a spa pool with natural lighting, a state-of-the-art cardio and strength training room with equipment designed for an active aging population and a wellness studio to support group classes.
Crossings Apartments
The Crossings Apartments replaced older single homes with higher density housing that reflects current consumer demands. These new residences provide an indoor connection to community amenities and feature a mix of one bedroom plus den, two bedroom and two bedroom plus den apartments ranging from 1,253 to 1,569 square feet. Open floor plans, natural light and abundant storage were the priorities for these residences. Each apartment also includes one under-building covered parking space.
Community Connections
This project also includes an interior pedestrian bridge over the driveway to provide an interior connection to this campus hub. Residents, team members and visitors are able to walk under cover from the Health Care and Personal Care houses, through The Crossings and the Learning & Wellness Center, and all the way to the apartments on the west side of the community. President/CEO Larry Zook shared that bringing the different parts of campus together under one roof was something residents and team members have dreamed of for many years.
Learn more about Wellness
Warwick Woodlands, a Moravian Manor Community
Lititz, PA
Pedestrian Friendly, Varied Housing Options for Satellite Community
Since its founding, Moravian Manor has operated under the premise of blending seamlessly into the surrounding town rather than creating its own insular community. The downtown location became a challenge as the community has thrived and needed room to grow. The purchase of a nearby 72 acre property paved the way for the Warwick Woodlands satellite community.
Traditional Neighborhood Development
The design of Warwick Woodlands reflects Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND) principles that respond to consumer preferences for an interconnected community—engaging rather than isolating residents from the existing townscape.
Key features are varied types of housing, courtyards and public spaces, and a network of pedestrian-friendly streets and sidewalks. The first phase included ten freestanding two-story townhomes, 70 duplex carriage homes, and The Woods Building comprised of 56 apartments, bistro, lounge and game room.
Community Connections
The limited on-site amenities reflect the intention that the active adult residents will avail themselves of the many resources nearby. Membership to the Lititz Recreation Center is included in the monthly fee and everything else, such as dining and housecleaning, is a la carte so that residents choose the services that fit their lifestyle.
The goal of strengthening connections to the town rather than creating an inward-focused campus resulted in the bistro being open to the public for all meals, as well as design measures to integrate the community into the existing context.
To blend into the borough neighborhood, the new satellite community features minimal signage beyond the required street signs and provides direct connections to the Lititz borough streets and sidewalk network. The Woods apartments building façade creates a design aesthetic of interconnected buildings along the streetscape. Landscaped medians further enhance the main street while aiding in traffic calming since the final phase will connect two major arteries running through the town. These measures were a major “selling point” in the Borough’s acceptance of several zoning variances including allowances for higher density residential models.
Consumer-Friendly Design Details
The diverse housing mix has no duplicate materials combinations among the 80 residences. Residents living in the apartments have access to under-building parking and a rooftop amenity added late in the design process to enhance pre-sales initiatives. The resulting flat roof area nestles between two gables at the main street for views in multiple directions. Mechanical equipment screening acknowledges that there is no “back door” for the building. Phase 2 additional housing is currently under construction and continues the initial premise of integrating the homes into the surrounding townscape.
Award: Senior Housing News Architecture and Design Awards Winner, Independent Living
Photo Credit: Nathan Cox Photography
The Villas at RiverMead Hybrid Homes
The Villas at RiverMead provide a new hybrid homes™ option that complements the existing cottages and apartments. Taking advantage of the site contours so that the parking level is tucked into the hillside, the four-story hybrid buildings reinforce the residential scale of the campus.
The two buildings include 12 corner villas, four on each floor. Each villa, with its open-concept design and corner orientation, is thoughtfully planned for maximum flow and light. Other features include fireplaces, walk-in closets, laundry rooms and open kitchens. A modest gathering area is included on each floor to provide opportunities for social connections among residents.
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Springwell Apartments
Baltimore, MD
We began with a planning initiative focused on expansion to help this senior living rental community meet a growing demand for larger apartments with a second bedroom or den and more modern amenities. The design result was The Homestead, a 144,000 square-foot four-story apartment building and a two-story commons building.
This expansion project added 99 independent living apartments ranging in size from a one-bedroom, one-bath to a two-bedroom, two-bath corner unit. New common spaces include a library, courtyard, pub, living room, dining room and education center. Following completion of the new building, the next planned phase is for conversion of 45 smaller, one-bedroom apartments into assisted-living and memory care rooms.
“RLPS focused on an attractive building that will age well over time with its residents. They are very attuned to quality of life for residents and practical considerations for staff.”
Phil Golden, Executive Director / Prinicipal
Photography Credit: Nathan Cox Photography
Patriots Colony – Presidents Pavilion Hybrid Homes
Williamsburg, VA
Presidents Pavilion, a three-building hybrid homes™ apartment complex, is the first phase of a multi-year independent living expansion. Each building is five stories tall with covered parking as the first story. The hybrid homes incorporate a traditional brick-accented exterior to blend seamlessly into Patriots Colony’s stately Colonial Williamsburg architecture. Three distinct layouts for the 60 individual residences feature open floor plans, a master suite with a walk-in closet, full-size washer and dryers, patios and covered balconies.
Renovations to the community center focused on dining updates to provide a contemporary experience and accommodate additional residents. Casual dining, including a bistro with display kitchen and pub, were expanded and formal full-service dining received a more intimate restaurant space. An outdoor patio area was expanded to provide for al fresco dining and incorporated a new pavilion, fire pit and outdoor grilling area.
Learn More About Hybrid Homes
Photo Credit: Nathan Cox Photography
Brandermill Woods
Midlothian, VA
The 2011 master plan included renovation and additions to the Clubhouse at Brandermill Woods which allowed the community to enhance their independent living common areas by offering additional amenities that appeal to the incoming Baby Boomers and their families. No longer will a single dining venue, chapel, and stereotypical shuffleboard court be considered enough to sustain and entertain residents. Instead, the new Clubhouse amenities include a theater, party room, game room, formal dining, club room, four-season room, private dining, bistro, multi-purpose space, chapel, fitness room, aerobics room, clinic, pool, terrace dining, private garden, and greenhouse and extensive spaces meant to both support the current cottage and apartment residents and also entice future residents to choose Brandermill Woods as their home. At the same time, 93 new independent living apartments were built adjacent to the new Clubhouse offering residents additional housing options with direct access to the clubhouse.
Photo credit: Nathan Cox Photography