Housing Giants - September 10, 2008 - (Page 29) it’s a w it’s a wraP! One architectural innovation that could ease the upward pressure on mid-rise condo hard costs, especially those associated with structured parking, is the “Texas Wrap,” pioneered by apartment builders in the Lone Star State. “At four stories, midrise buildings can still be wood-frame,” explains Denver-based Alan Colussy, principal of Klipp, an architectural firm. “In a ‘wrap,’ you build the concrete parking structure first, separately, then wrap the stick-framed housing around the parking to hide it. The cost advantage is eliminating the exterior skin of the parking building, and all the costs associated with loads from four stories of residential on top of the parking structure.” California consultant and HG columnist John Burns likes wraps. “You drive right up to your own level, park and walk across a skybridge to your unit,” he says. “I know a lot of builders who don’t like them, but I think it’s a great lifestyle.” Texas builder David Weekley says wraps are far more efficient than building stick-framed apartments on top of a concrete podium. “My understanding is that you can save $10 to $20 a square foot in hard costs,” he says. “There are tons or wraps being done in the apartment sector. It remains to be seen whether it will become the standard for condo buildings.” pay over $20,000 for a parking space, and the municipality requires two or three spaces per unit, it’s hard to make the deal pencil. “It’s tough for a builder to have confidence that buyers will be willing to pay a big premium to live in an urban mid-rise, closer to work, when they have the option to buy a home or townhouse in the suburbs at a bargain price,” Hernandez says, then adds, “They might just go for a townhouse and use the money they save to buy a car that gets 50 miles to the gallon. In order for us to do a mid-rise now, the nearest detached, for-sale homes would have to be very far away.” sHort-term trouble Until inventories of unsold homes decline and lot prices stabilize, the only mid-rises coming out of the ground are likely to be those in “A+” urban locations, close to mass transit lines, shopping, restaurants www.Housinggiants.com 9.10.08.Housing giants 29 http://www.klipparch.com http://www.Housinggiants.com
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