Housing Giants - February 15, 2009 - (Page 12) FEATURE Photography: DesignLens A clean street line, as this project, “Santana Row,” shows, combined with tall buildings bring a strong urban edge, notes Mollie Carmichael; curving a street has the opposite effect. Plus, curved streets demand curved buildings and other architectural elements, and that costs more. tucked into the top floor where attic space was used to add that additional square footage. Giardino suggested her client cut both units in half; the result was two additional units that were slightly more than 1,200 square foot each — perfect for a two bedroom. “I’m actually increasing the yield in the building by two units in the upper level,” Giardino says. “I’m also taking out the garages on the first floor, and the garages share the first floor with a handful of units. So it’s not a parking-under building; it’s a parking-integrated building. By taking out some of the parking, she was able to add units to the building. “What started out as a 15-unit building with 16 garages is now a 21-unit building with no garages.” “I’ve eliminated the construction cost of one entire building,” says Giardino, “and I’ve picked up units. I did this throughout the site. The new plan amortized the client’s land cost over an additional 100 units.” This land plan failure was redeemed to a win/win/win — for Giardino, the developer and the buyer. The lesson: Giardino says planners and developers for too long held onto the idea that bigger is better. She feels the renewed focus should be on good design, making small spaces feel large and creating spaces that multi-task. “If I don’t use the dining room, could it double as a library or office?” asks Carmichael. “These are things we used to consider when we first got married or got out of school. They are practical, and that is what people are doing now. Space for the sake of space makes no sense.”HG Related Articles Read more on how other builders tackled difficult land plans. “Beautiful Density” — A Florida residence meets the high-density lifestyle “Manifest Density” — What we said about high-density development in 2005 “Making High Density Sites Work” 12 02.15.09 HOUSING GIANTS www.HousingGiants.com http://www.housingzone.com/article/CA509043.html http://www.housingzone.com/article/CA604379.html http://www.fitzgeraldassociates.net/htdocs/pdf/UrbanLand_May2006.pdf http://www.housinggiants.com
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Housing Giants - February 15, 2009 Housing Giants - February 15, 2009 Contents Viewpoint News Market Feature Housing Giants - February 15, 2009 Housing Giants - February 15, 2009 - Housing Giants - February 15, 2009 (Page Cover1) Housing Giants - February 15, 2009 - Contents (Page 2) Housing Giants - February 15, 2009 - Viewpoint (Page 3) Housing Giants - February 15, 2009 - News (Page 4) Housing Giants - February 15, 2009 - News (Page 5) Housing Giants - February 15, 2009 - Market (Page 6) Housing Giants - February 15, 2009 - Market (Page 7) Housing Giants - February 15, 2009 - Feature (Page 8) Housing Giants - February 15, 2009 - Feature (Page 9) Housing Giants - February 15, 2009 - Feature (Page 10) Housing Giants - February 15, 2009 - Feature (Page 11) Housing Giants - February 15, 2009 - Feature (Page 12) Housing Giants - February 15, 2009 - Feature (Page 13)
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