Projects
Givens Estates – Friendship Park Apartments
Asheville, NC
This 125,569 square foot, senior living apartment expansion replaces lower density housing. Constructed in two phases, the buildings work with the topography to increase density and integrate a stream running between them. Targeting 55+ residents, the 80 apartments enjoy wooded views from oversized balconies or walk-out patios. A series of covered bridges and walkways connect the new structures to the community center and other campus amenities.
Letting the Terrain Guide the Senior Living Apartment Expansion
The design utilizes the steep site, with the buildings nestled along an ambling spring-fed stream. The topography dictated two separate apartment buildings that are each segmented at the core with an interior bridge connecting the two halves. This “elbow” maximizes the number of corner units and allows the buildings to transition in tandem with the stream that winds down the hillside. Each building also includes a pavilion for extended socialization between apartment residents.
Being “polite to the site” was the guiding principle for this apartment expansion. Design and construction focused on integrating environmentally-friendly practices and elevating the natural setting.
A 60-foot buffer of naturally occurring trees and plant life protects and frames the stream flowing through the middle of the Friendship Park neighborhood. There is a 40 foot elevation change between the campus loop road and steam. The buildings, walkways and landscape design address this in a way that improves access alongside the stream.
Creating a Market-Friendly Modern-Mountain Style Expansion
The park-like, wooded setting led the design team to embrace a contemporary version of Arts & Crafts architecture. Evocative of a treehouse, the façade for the apartment expansion has visually expressive heavy timber structures. They are painted a deep brick red that frame covered porch-style balconies and patios.
The new, upscale apartment residences feature open floor plans. Designed to complement rather than duplicate other campus housing, these apartments range in size from 800 to 1400 square feet. Outdoor patios and balconies are generously sized. The many corner apartments feature large windows to take advantage of the multi-directional views.
Broadmead
Cockeysville, MD
This project began with a master planning exercise to revitalize the existing campus. Phased senior living renovations and new construction resulted in new independent living, right-sized healthcare, and updated amenities.
Hillside Homes
Two new four-story hybrid home apartment buildings were added adjacent to the commons building. Each includes 52 residences as well as under-
building parking. These homes incorporate features such as plenty of daylight, extensive views in multiple directions, outdoor living for each residence, and communal gathering spaces in each building. Broadmead also connected the two hybrid homes to the commons building providing covered pedestrian access to amenities no matter the weather.
Community Center Renovations
Broadmead’s community center serves as the center of campus activities. These senior living renovations updated and expanded this amenity space to include a café, multi-purpose room, library, wellness center, and resident activity spaces including a new indoor pool. Outside, a new covered entry was added as well as an electric vehicle charging station.
Right-sized Healthcare
Multi-phased updates renovated skilled care to create neighborhoods and added a new state-of-the-art short-term rehab wing. The new households reinforce person-centered care with the addition of communal living and dining spaces being shared by an intentionally smaller group of residents. Additionally, showers were added to personal bathrooms allowing residents the dignity of private in-room bathing.
Independent living apartments were converted to assisted living memory care and new skilled care memory care residences were added. Broadmead worked with John Hopkins University physicians and scientists early in the development process to design and then implement their Center of Excellence in Dementia Care which focuses on person-centered care.
Photo credit: Nathan Cox Photography
Vicar’s Landing at Oak Bridge
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
Senior Living Satellite Community Allows for Growth
With a robust wait list and a built-out property, Vicar’s Landing introduced a new, upscale senior living satellite community campus. The Oak Bridge community, a short drive from the Atlantic coast and close to the renowned TPC Sawgrass, is designed as a resort-style neighborhood.
Both the residences and the clubhouse for this new senior living satellite community feature open plans, with abundant natural light and high ceilings wherever possible. The coastal contemporary architecture reflects the local vernacular and subtropical climate with light, reflective materials and careful shading strategies. The interior design features a more saturated coastal palette with nautical blues and greens evocative of the surrounding landscape.
Master Planning Created the Framework for Multi-Phased Construction
Phase 1 construction for the 424,000 square foot senior living satellite expansion included two hybrid home “Flats” buildings with 66 apartments, 47 duplex and triplex villas and a 20,000 SF clubhouse. Marketing for the first phase was so successful that construction continued uninterrupted into another hybrid flats building for Phase 2.
Plans for the next phase include 14-bed assisted living and 18-bed memory care households and another hybrid flats building. This phase also anticipates a 14,000 square foot mixed use shell space for a health clinic, small restaurant or other use.
Resort-Style Clubhouse Serves Satellite Community and Original Campus
With golf cart access to the original Sawgrass campus, the Oak Bridge satellite neighborhood features complementary amenities to encourage interaction between the two. Fine dining, a casual café and pub, exercise equipment room, fitness classroom, beauty salon and massage room comprise the 20,000 SF clubhouse. The flexible dining venue design incorporates technology to host meetings or large scale special events.
Vicar’s Landing considered an indoor aquatics center, but decided an outdoor pool was better suited to a resort lifestyle. The pool supports holistic wellness as part of fitness programming and a social gathering venue. The surrounding deck and bar area provide an appealing and lively outdoor event space.
Photo Credits: Sue Root Barker Photography and Vicar’s Landing
Considering a Senior Living Satellite Community?
Read our Satellite Communities Paper
Landis Place on King
Lancaster, PA
This 55+ rental community in the heart of downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania provides much-needed middle-income housing for older adults. The satellite community is designed for older adults who wish to remain in an urban setting and take advantage of the surrounding city’s resources.
The mixed-use building houses 79 apartments, under-building parking and third-party commercial space. Replacing two non-descript, aged buildings, Landis Place on King will help keep the city’s central business district vibrant and growing.
Meeting the Need for Middle Market Senior Housing
In-house services are limited to reduce needed staff and operational costs, while encouraging residents to remain engaged in the greater community. To avoid excavation and rock removal costs, the building design placed the structure on top of the site. Lower areas of the property were then infilled. The simple building form is complemented by glass expanses on the public-facing street facade. Repetitive elements allow for panelized construction. Simple stacking methodologies are used to keep the building cost effective. Nearly all of the MEP units are vertically stacked for efficient distribution.
To fill a local middle market housing gap, 42% of the apartments are priced for those with income below the county median. A Capital Campaign will help maintain 10% of apartments with rates that remain affordable for those at the lower end for the region
Creating Appealing Apartments in a Mixed-Use Urban Setting
Expected to accommodate 100+ residents, the seven-story building has one- and two-bedroom loft-style apartments. It also includes 1,800 square feet of retail shell space (slated to open as Rendezvous Pizzeria & Steak Shop, and 1,400 square feet of office space. The apartments, ranging in size from 739 to 1,209 square feet, deliver open and accessible floor plans, covered parking and a mix of communal areas. Even the smallest units include eat-in kitchens, balconies, walk-in closets and washers/dryers.
Common spaces include elevator lobby/gathering rooms on three floors, a fitness room, and a community room on the top floor. This space opens up to a rooftop terrace with expansive city views. The parking garage roof creates a second floor patio and outdoor green space overlooking the street.
Visit the Landis Place on King website to schedule a tour, see apartment floor plans, request a brochure or learn more about this new 55+ mixed use residence in downtown Lancaster.
The Village at Gainesville – SantaFe Senior Living
Gainesville, FL
Located in Florida, The Village at Gainesville is a senior living community looking to plan for their future. They offer a choice of senior living residences as well as assisted living and memory care. Master planning goals included adding 100+ independent living residences in multiple phases, replacing small apartment units and consolidating memory care into a new state of the art assisted living and assisted living memory care building. It was also important to work around legacy trees and preserved land as the master plan developed.
Stakeholder Engagement in Master Planning
Current residents, prospective residents, board members, and The Village at Gainesville leadership participated in a mix of in person focus groups and online surveys that provided valuable input regarding the future of the community. Several reoccurring themes impacted master planning such as respect for the campus’s natural surroundings, opportunities to strengthen the campus culture, wanting stronger connections with both a nearby college and a university, and the desire for more on-campus services.
Master Plan Results
The final plan takes a phased approach that expands the housing and amenities on campus and creates new assisted living and assisted living memory care residences while maintaining the natural beauty and outdoor character of the existing community.
Chestnut Ridge at Rodale
Emmaus, PA
A Wellness-Focused Senior Living Satellite Community
Phoebe Ministries identified Emmaus as an underserved market opportunity for a senior living satellite community. Following the sale of the Rodale publishing company, the 38-acre headquarters was vacated. This unique property led to the vision for Chestnut Ridge at Rodale, a wellness-focused residential community for ages 62 and up that embraces the Rodale values of melding fitness, organic dining, and wellness.
The community will evolve in phases, beginning with adaptive reuse of the former Rodale offices into 122 apartments. The three-story office building will be converted into one and two-bedroom apartments with a center courtyard. An adjacent one-story office building will be replaced with a four-story, horseshoe-shaped apartment building featuring views of nearby South Mountain.
Community connections
The vacated office campus provided a unique opportunity to engage with the town while creating a distinctive, pedestrian-friendly campus that continues Rodale values relating to health and vitality. An existing onsite childcare center will continue operation and Phoebe intends to develop intergenerational programming. An adjacent service garage that was most recently used as a farmer’s co-op has been converted into the welcome center and sales office. When Chestnut Ridge opens, this building is envisioned to function as a farmer’s market. Likewise, a former warehouse now houses a full-size apartment mock-up, with future plans for it to serve as a resource for the greater community, potentially housing the Emmaus Arts and Innovation Center.
Chestnut Ridge at Rodale will maintain and enhance the walking and biking trails on the campus while creating new amenities including an amphitheater for both residents and neighbors. Construction will seek to limit the disturbance of the existing green space, take advantage of existing parking lots, and promote residents’ experience of the natural setting.
Rodale legacy
Building on the Rodale legacy, Phoebe will include raised gardens, programmed courtyards, and walking trails connected to the adjacent nature preserve, as well as sustainable features such as a green wall at the new exterior entrance into the courtyard in the former office building and a green roof for the natatorium. A new amphitheater transitions up to the park and the design concepts maintain the existing trees as a backdrop to the amphitheater.
Technology to support aging in place
All apartments are equipped with smart technology infrastructure and include a base package with lighting and temperature controls that can be supplemented with additional features at move-in or in the future as needed. Residents can choose from a wide array of options for supportive technology, social connections and health tracking/monitoring with the expectation that more features will become available as the technology continues to evolve.
Unique courtyard
Opening up the center of the former office building provides daylight and views for the converted apartments. The design literally cuts a hole in the center of the building, replacing an enclosed atrium with an open courtyard. A green wall made up of live plants highlights the new opening and is visible from the street. Storefront windows with boxed-out bays and French balconies extend outdoor connections for the homes and help prevent the narrow courtyard space from feeling constricted.
A panelized façade system and a row of trees further help to create an appealing human-scale ceiling for this courtyard which features raised gardens for resident and dining program chef use. In the new building, apartments are sequentially angled in a horseshoe formation for expanded views. The fourth-floor apartments have a taller sloped living room ceiling with transoms above the patio door for even more light.
Kirkland Village – Northwood Gardens
Bethlehem, PA
This senior living community expansion introduced a new luxury housing model. The terrace-style hybrid homes reflect a high caliber design for gracious living. Each building provides direct connections back to the community center. The common areas on each floor focus on sophisticated, contemporary styling with bold colors and metallic accents. We also assisted the client with interior design for a model home apartment and sales center during construction. Low or zero-emitting, recycled content and regional materials were selected to help the building achieve LEED for Homes Silver Certification.
Learn More About Hybrid HomesPhoto Credit: Nathan Cox Photography
Chestnut Ridge at Rodale – Sales Office & Model Apartment
Emmaus, PA
A new active adult satellite community will evolve in phases, beginning with adaptive reuse of the former Rodale publishing company offices into apartments. The property is currently in the development phase so the sale office and model apartment are critical tools to help achieve the owner’s vision for a new residential community that embraces Rodale values of melding fitness, organic dining and wellness
Welcome Center Sales Office
An adjacent garage building, previously used by Rodale as a farmer’s co-op, has been converted into the welcome center and sales office. The interior design of the welcome center maintains the existing building’s industrial aesthetic complementing the contemporary agrarian theme planned for the new community. Hospitality and technology are comfortably integrated to provide an appealing experience. Interactive touch-screens are combined with artfully arranged presentation visuals to help prospective residents explore floor plans, finish options and community amenities. The space is designed for flexibility to accommodate individual visits as well as special events hosting larger groups.
Model Apartment
A former Rodale warehouse now houses the full size mock-up of a model apartment. The model apartment helps visitors envision the scale, finishes and layout of a typical residence in the satellite community under construction. This mock-up space was staged to show a functional and attractive furniture layout for the apartment model floor plan, with accessories added to for the visual appeal of a comfortable, contemporary home.
Givens Estates – Oxford Commons
Asheville, NC
Givens Estates wanted to update their Oxford Commons amenity spaces to reflect their mission to provide residents the opportunities for a purpose-driven life where they can pursue their passions and explore the possibilities for personal growth and enrichment. Thus, we updated their commons to provide modern amenity spaces that reflect Givens Estates mountain aesthetic.
Multiple dining venues include a flexible gathering space aptly named The Social Brew provides a new place to connect with others over a cup of coffee, light breakfast, or glass of wine.
Market + Craft serves casual dining as well as fresh baked goods, take-out items, and locally sourced goods in the Marketplace. The new patio offers a spot to gather for a meal at a shaded table or relaxation around a fire pit or Terrene provides a formal dining experience highlighted with a chef’s table bar to watch the kitchen action.
Additional renovations included the wellness center which now boasts a newly renovated 1700 SF fitness room and 1100 SF yoga and aerobics studio. A stained glass window triptych was relocated to a more prominent position and backlit to highlight the art inspired by the surrounding mountains. The multi-story grand staircase was refreshed with new finishes and now features a dramatic lighting installation.
Lakeside Apartments and Clear Creek Cottages at Carolina Village
Hendersonville, NC
These new independent living residences, consisting of 54 cottages and 36 apartments, are the next step in Carolina Village’s multi-year plan for strategic growth. The Lakeside Apartments are located next to the community’s Tranquil Lake, which is home to abundant waterfowl and pleasant landscaping. Discrete parking is provided under the building. The Clear Creek Cottage neighborhood is made up of six duplexes and seven 6-plexes. These homes take advantage of the terrain to provide multiple single-story residences, all with ground-level entrances maximizing the hillside site. Both the apartments and cottages reflect the community’s Smoky Mountain aesthetic featuring wooden post and beam details and stacked stone.
Views
Each Lakeside residence steps back from the one beside it allowing unobstructed views of the nearby mountains. Every residence’s large picture window and balcony or patio highlight these views and allow abundant natural light to stream indoors.
Balcony Customization
The outdoor space is customized to each homeowner’s preferences – everything from full four-season, three-season, screened-in, or open balconies and patios. Yet, each was carefully designed to maintain a similar aesthetic creating pleasingly complimentary cottage and apartment exteriors.
Clubhouse
What began as the need for tool storage near the community garden plots evolved into a clubhouse with a uniquely cantilevered roof covering an outdoor patio gathering space. The clubhouse boasts floor-to-ceiling windows and a cozy fireplace surrounding a large open multi-purpose space. Bathrooms and the original garden tool storage are also part of this striking amenity.
Photo credit: Nathan Cox Photography