2023 Spring Issue - 66

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4. Encanto Village
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA
In 2015, the city of San Diego created the Encanto Neighborhoods
Community Plan to guide development in the economically challenged
Encanto neighborhood. The San Diego Housing Commission
partnered with the nonprofit organization National Community Renaissance
of Rancho Cucamonga, California, to assemble six underused
parcels and create Encanto Village on a 1.15-acre (0.46 ha) site across
the street from a trolley station. The 66 apartments are for households
earning 30 to 60 percent of the AMI, with eight units set aside
for formerly unhoused veterans. The by-right project required no
approvals for zoning or land use, which helped speed up the development
process.
Local firm Studio E Architects configured two five-story buildings in
a " W " layout around an existing electrical utility substation, maximizing
access to natural light and air and creating a series of courtyards
and gardens, some private, some facing the street. The lower floors
5. Mya and the Shop
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH
On a long, narrow, irregular site along the TRAX line in downtown Salt
Lake City, Mya and the Shop combines 126 micro apartments (Mya)
with ground-floor retail and 30,000 square feet (2,800 sq m) of coworking
space. New Orleans-based architecture firm EskewDumezRipple
distinguished the four-story building's three programs, using stick-built
construction for the residential portion and steel-and-concrete framing for
the commercial uses, with a glazed section making the retail uses visible
to passersby. A serrated portion transitions between the residential and
commercial functions and helps navigate the site's dogleg.
On the building's rear facade, local artist Phillip Adams painted a
mural of a flamingo that frequented the city's namesake lake for many
years. Forty units are for households earning less than 40 percent of the
AMI, 40 are for those earning less than 80 percent of the AMI, and 46
are market rate but priced lower than other typical apartments in the
area. The complex was completed in 2021 for developers Domain Companies
of New Orleans and GIV Group of Salt Lake City.
contain office and retail uses as well as support services for residents.
Bright colors on the exterior and an arcade along the ground-floor
shops add vitality to the streetscape.
6. Orenda
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
With the goal of reducing displacement in the Othello neighborhood
of south Seattle, local nonprofit housing developer HomeSight is
developing a long-empty parcel of land next to the Othello Light Rail
Station into the mixed-use Othello Square. Local architecture firm
Weber Thompson designed one of the four buildings, Orenda, for local
real estate investment firm Laird Norton Properties and local developer
Spectrum Development Solutions. Orenda opened in 2021 with a
ground-level children's clinic run by Seattle Children's Hospital, a childcare
facility, and 176 apartments for households earning between 65
and 120 percent of the AMI.
Artwork by local artists plays a key role in the building. Seattle muralist
Emily Eisenhart led neighborhood residents in creating a colorful
mural that wraps around the seven-story building's main entrance. " Art
pillars " between storefront sections bear the work of local artists of
Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous heritage. An outdoor rooftop lounge
offers views of Mount Rainier.
66
URBAN LAND SPRING 2023
TIMOTHY HURSLEY
MARK DAVIDSON
MORIS MORENO PHOTOGRAPHY
2023 Spring Issue

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of 2023 Spring Issue
