Fill in the Gaps: Infill Architecture in Urban Residual Spaces

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In all cities around the world, there are some forms of residual space, forgotten pieces of the urban fabric, remnants of overlapping layers of past development. This land whose conditions make it unsuitable for most types of conventional construction might be a fertile ground for architectural invention. Assigning a new value to vacant corner lots, dead-end alleys and strangely shaped plots opens up a new field of opportunities for inward urban development, expanding available living space and increasing amenities in densely populated cities. The following explores the potential for experiment and urban activation held by urban leftover space.

Infill architecture usually refers to the re-dedication of undeveloped land to new construction, and it circumscribes a variety of scales, approaches and typologies. Viewed by some as a means to counteract the urban sprawl, making use of existing infrastructure and by others as a decrease in potential public space and possible overloading of urban services, infill architecture is a debatable and nuanced topic. However, for a variety of reasons, from densifying urban centres to restoring coherence to the urban fabric, the underlying potential of residual urban spaces is a subject of great interest. In light of the rising urban population and high value of land in cities, it is worth examining different ideas, urban initiatives and projects that could paint a comprehensive picture of the infill architecture phenomenon.

It seems fitting to start the discussion on infill architecture by mentioning the Japanese creativity and lack of inhibition when it comes to making the most out of a hyper-condensed urban environment. Projects such the Love House by Takeshi Hosaka Architects, the House in Nada by FujiwaraMuro Architects, or Hideyuki Nakayama Architecture's O House are just a few examples of a distinct architecture that carefully maximizes the potential of every inch of space.

The appeal of small houses in Japan is the result of a mixture of local conditions, such as property prices, high taxes and most of all, land scarcity. In these particular circumstances, experimenting with presumably unbuildable spaces extends beyond residential projects, as is the case of SO&CO's multi-storey retail and office building in Ginza. Atelier Bow-Wow calls these spatial typologies Pet Architecture, as they denote a certain playfulness in inhabiting leftover urban areas. The studio's 'Pet Architecture guide book', through its catalogue of highly pragmatic and inventive micro-projects, creates an exciting overview of the possibilities held by residual urban spaces, in Tokyo and elsewhere.

Rising urban density and high land prices are incentives for the use of non-conventional sites in cities all around the world. The architectural phenomenon dubbed skinny house is the most common type of contemporary infill, with projects occupying narrow strips of land, usually between buildings. The spatial typology is not a new one, having precedents in medieval European cities. However, the unconventional contemporary projects resulted from these site constraints rendered the phenomenon widely popular in recent years. Filling the gap between two buildings in a historic urban fabric, Gwendolyn Huisman's and Marijn Boterman's SkinnySCAR illustrates the common traits of skinny houses: the soft division of different living spaces, incorporating additional functions to the stairwell, as well as carefully curating natural light.

If the skinny house is the consequence of a very narrow plot, some of the most interesting infill projects creatively make use of more unexpected urban residual spaces. Dutch practice Kuhne&Co's studio on Boomgaardstraat in Rotterdam was built on a narrow strip of land and floats on stilts over a parking lot. The 54-metre-long volume is only five metres deep and contains office space, a workshop and the architects' dwelling. Another one of Kuhne&Co's designs, an apartment and office space, hovers above the entrance to a delivery yard, with the ground level plot just big enough to host a concrete volume containing the entrance and a staircase.

On numerous occasions, the infrastructure projects of the past century caused urban rifts and created discontinuities in the urban fabric in the shape of odd leftover spaces. The apartment building XS House designed by ISA sits on one of these residual spaces resulted from the development of Vine Street Expressway in Philadelphia. Through its compact layout and clever use of split level apartments, the project reclaims a residual space formerly used as a parking lot, adding urban density and patching the urban fabric.

Looking at the subject from a broader perspective, it is worth reviewing how the idea of reclaiming residual spaces fits into urban policy. In 2012, Rotterdam's municipality initiated a program called Klein&Fijn (translating to Small& Beautiful), tasking Studio Hartzema with the charting of all the empty residual plots in the city centre that could host new developments. The research unveiled hundreds of sites that could accommodate small-scale projects, with the potential to enrich the urban structure of Rotterdam by 3 million square meters. Consequently, the municipality of Rotterdam developed a special permitting process for this kind of designs, and architectuur maken's house project is a result of this policy.

With few exceptions, leftover sites are used predominantly for residential projects, that is if they receive permission to be developed at all. Broadening both the array of reclaimed residual urban spaces, as well as the architectural programs that can occupy them, requires more flexible and dynamic urban planning. The subject of infill architecture has many nuances, but in all its abundance of shapes and sizes, the phenomenon represents a re-economization of urban spaces and is worth considering as a strategy for inward development.

This article is part of the ArchDaily Topic: Tiny. Every month we explore a topic in-depth through articles, interviews, news, and projects. Learn more about our monthly topics here. As always, at ArchDaily we welcome the contributions of our readers; if you want to submit an article or project, contact us.

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Fill in the Gaps: Infill Architecture in Urban Residual Spaces - ArchDaily

04 September 2020

Holman Webb

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Two new laws have been passed to restore public confidence inthe NSW building industry and to stop 'dodgy' builders anddevelopers.

The laws are part of the reforms promised by the NSW governmentin order to improve the quality of construction and provide betterprotections for consumers against non-compliance within thebuilding sector.

The recently appointed NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler OAM will lead theimplementation of the new laws, and will focus on theinvestigation and audit strategies.

NSW Government Fair Trading states on its website that thisAct:

The key reforms in the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020, as passedby Parliament, are:

The duty of care provisions in the Act started on 10 June2020.

The majority of the remaining reforms in the Act will start on 1July 2021, as regulations need to be developed to support theiroperation. Fair Trading state that these regulations will bedeveloped throughout 2020 and will be subject to publicconsultation.

NSW Government Fair Trading states on its website that thisAct:

These obligations apply to Class 2 buildings, and buildingsincluding a Class 2 component. These are typically multi-storey,multi-unit apartment buildings.

The key reforms in the Residential Apartment Buildings (Compliance and EnforcementPowers) Act 2020, include:

From 1 September 2020

The content of this article is intended to provide a generalguide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be soughtabout your specific circumstances.

POPULAR ARTICLES ON: Real Estate and Construction from Australia

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New South Wales building industry reforms - Real Estate and Construction - Australia - Mondaq News Alerts

Calum Weaver with 2101 Normandy Drive, Miami Beach, 3555 Northwest 83rd Avenue, Doral, 1442 Northeast Miami Court, Miami, and 937 Southwest Fifth Street, Miami (Credit: Google Maps)

Multifamily sales declined 50 percent during the first half of the year, according to a mid-year report and forecast by Cushman & Wakefield.

Total sales volume for 2020 could also fall by half, compared to last year, as the economic effects of Covid-19 linger, the report shows.

Ninety-one multifamily projects sold in South Florida during the first six months of the year for a total of $1 billion in sales. Most of the activity was for buildings less than $20 million.That $1 billion in total sales is a 50 percent decrease year over year.

Most of the sales were in Broward County, which saw a total of $443 million from 39 apartment deals. Deals averaged $152,064 a unit or $228 a square foot. Volume was down 27 percent from 2019s first half.

Among the three South Florida counties, Palm Beach saw the largest decrease in sales volume in the first half of the year compared to the same period of 2019. Sales totaled $180 million across 15 deals, a 58 percent drop.

Miami-Dade multifamily deals fell 20 percent, year-over-year, to $382 million.

The region experienced some milestones, according to Cushman & Wakefields report, authored by Callum Weaver. Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties surpassed $200,000 a unit in sales for the first time. And Broward and Palm Beach saw record sales per square foot: $250 for Palm Beach and $228 for Broward.

Sales in Miami-Dade included investor Marc Shulmans May sale of an apartment building in Miami Beachs Normandy Isles to a family office from France for $9.25 million.

In March, The Related Group, Shoma Group and PGIM Real Estate Investors sold The Flats Apartments at CityPlace Doral for $100 million.

That same month, BrickOne Group, led by Costantino Cicchelli, Frank Rodriguez Melo and Stefano Garofoli, paid $6.1 million for the 30-unit building at 1442 Northeast Miami Court in Miamis Arts & Entertainment District and the 18-unit building at 937 Southwest Fifth Street in Miamis Little Havana.

Rents

South Florida multifamily rents held through July, despite local unemployment reaching 11.3 percent, or 320,000 people, according to the report. All three counties saw higher rents in 2020s first half compared to the same period last year.

However, quarter-over-quarter, asking rents decreased in all three counties. Palm Beach County saw the largest quarterly drop at 1.7 percent in the second quarter, reaching $1,589. Thats the highest countywide asking rent in South Florida. Miami-Dade had the lowest with $1,519.

Among submarkets, Coral Gables had the largest decrease in asking rent, 4.6 percent, reaching $1,988, or $2.35 a square foot.

Quarter-over-quarter, Miramar had the highest uptick in asking rent of 3.2 percent in the second quarter, reaching $1,326, or $1.48 a square foot. The lowest rent in South Florida is in Belle Glade, with an asking rent of $715, or 90 cents a square foot.

Deliveries and vacancies

South Florida saw the delivery of 7,500 new multifamily units during 2020s first half. In the second quarter, most of the new deliveries were in Fort Lauderdale with 1,836 units, followed by the Doral area with 1,297.

Newly delivered apartment units pushed vacancy rates in the first half of the year to 5.5 percent, up from 4.9 percent during 2019s first half, according to the report.

Broward and Miami-Dade saw record high vacancy rates in 2020s second quarter. Browards hit 6.5 percent, coming off the first quarters record low of 5 percent. Fort Lauderdale had the highest rate in the county. The Miramar area showed the lowest in the county.

Miami-Dade hit 5.2 percent. The highest vacancy rate in the county was in Coral Gables and the lowest in Westchester.

Palm Beachs vacancy rate reached 7 percent, with the highest rate in Belle Glade at 21 percent and the lowest in outlying Palm Beach County at 3.4 percent.

Another 7,500 units are scheduled for delivery later this year on par with Berkadias pre-Covid 2020 forecast from February. That should continue to lead to higher vacancies, most notably among class A buildings and in urban markets, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

A record 28,000 units are under construction overall in South Florida, with most of the units in Miami-Dade County about 14,000 units across 63 apartment buildings. By submarket, most of the construction is in Miamis Brickell area, with 7,228 units under construction. Its followed by Fort Lauderdale, with about 5,000 units under construction.

In January, Magellan Development Group launched preleasing for its latest Midtown Miami apartment building, adding nearly 450 rentals to the market.

That same month, leasing began for Park-Line Miami in Overtown, part of the mixed-use development that is home to MiamiCentral.

In June, Alluvion Las Olas began accepting applications for pre-leasing at the 380-unit, 43-story luxury high-rise on the New River.

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South Florida multifamily sales fell 50% in first half of year: report - The Real Deal

The affordable apartment at 2003 Aldrich Ave. was demolished Sept. 1 by a developer that acquired the building after being sued for damaging it. Randolph Street Realty Capital plans to build a 47-unit market-rate apartment on the site. Photo by Rachel Usher

Randolph Street Realty Capital has demolished a Lowry Hill East apartment building that it was sued for damaging. The building, razed on Sept. 1, held 25 affordable units until 2018 when it was badly cracked in a botched construction job and residents were forced to vacate, some ending up in homeless shelters.

Chicago-based Randolph Street acquired the building, at 2003 Aldrich Ave., in March after settling the lawsuit. The firm, which never publicly disclosed the cost of repairing the building, now has plans to construct a 47-unit market-rate apartment on the site.

The demolition is a disappointment for neighbors and affordable housing activists who had been mobilizing to save the building.

A crowd of about 100 protesters marched from Mueller Park to the four-story brick building on the corner of Franklin & Lyndale on Aug. 20, holding big yellow signs reading, Welcome to Lowry Hill East Neighborhood! Home of Naturally Occurring Profitable Housing!

Alicia Gibson, board president of the Lowry Hill East Neighborhood Association (LHENA), asked the crowd to demand a change in Randolph Streets plans and to demand that the city devise an alternate strategy for preserving affordable housing at 2003 Aldrich Ave.

They keep telling us these shenanigans are legal, she said. They need to fix that loophole now. If people can come in and damage affordable housing, buy it from their own malfeasance, tear it down and put in market-rate and higher housing, then that should terrify anyone in this city who cares about housing justice.

Council President Lisa Bender, who represents the area, has said the situation is unbelievably frustrating but that the city cannot deny a wrecking permit on subjective grounds.

Activist Toussaint Morrison, a co-organizer of the rally, said the city was allowing gentrification.

We could have bought this right here, cleaned it up and made it for the people. This could have housed people! he said. You are turning away brown, Black, poor neglected people willingly.

Wedge resident Nick Sanford said he lives in a similar century-old brick building to 2003 Aldrich. I think they should be preserved, he said.

The march, led by the groups On Site Public Media and Communities United Against Police Brutality, also stopped outside Benders home in Lowry Hill East, with protesters criticizing Bender for not being responsive to constituents and not doing enough to reign in the Minneapolis Police Department before George Floyd was killed.

The Lowry Hill East Neighborhood Association has vowed to oppose any development project on the 2003 Aldrich site that doesnt include at least 25 apartment units affordable to people making less than 50% of the area median income. In addition, the organization is requesting a review by the city attorney to ensure proper changes are made to prevent this from ever happening again. The organization has published a call to action on its website.

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Cracked affordable apartment demolished in the Wedge - Southwest Journal

An apartment builder that has developed projects in central Dallas is making the jump to the north side of U.S. Highway 380 in Denton County.

Developer ZOM Living plans to build a 378-unit rental community near the corner of U.S. 380 and FM1385 in Aubrey.

The rental community will be just west of the Windsong Ranch community and is near where the PGA of America is building its headquarters and golf courses.

Called Mezzo, the apartment project is being built by ZOM in partnership with Civitas Capital Group. The first units are set to open in the third quarter of 2021.

Our Mezzo site is convenient to an expanding array of retail and entertainment venues, excellent schools, and the highest concentration of suburban corporate employers in the state of Texas, Jason Haun, ZOMs Development vice president, said in a statement. With Mezzo, we will bring a new level of quality, unit features and amenities to this growing submarket north of Dallas.

Synovus Bank financed construction, and Stanford Construction is the general contractor. The architect for the project is JHP.

Mezzo is the latest in a series of apartment projects in the U.S. 380 corridor west of the Dallas North Tollway. That area is seeing widespread residential and retail growth.

Based in Orlando, Fla., ZOM has done multiple projects in North Texas. It is building a 41-story high-rise in downtown Dallas Arts District that will open starting later this year. ZOM also just completed a 376-unit rental community in McKinney.

We are excited to break ground on our seventh project in the Dallas market and 12th project overall in Texas, Greg West, ZOMs chief executive officer, said in a statement.

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New apartments are in the works on U.S. 380 in Denton County - The Dallas Morning News

NEW YORK, June 18, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --CIT Group Inc.(NYSE: CIT) today announced that its Real Estate Financebusiness provided a $35.9 million senior secured loan for construction of a new 183-unit apartment building in Stamford, Connecticut.

The project, a joint venture between Fields Grade Development and Alpine Residential, is located on Canal Street in Stamford, within walking distance of several large employers. The site is also a short distance from the Metro North railway, providing easy access to Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan and other stops along the New York-Connecticut rail corridor.

"This financing helps advance our plan to construct an attractive multifamily residential building with ground-floor retail space and other associated amenities in a premier Stamford location," said Rob Caulfield of Fields Grade Development. "We appreciated CIT's agility and expertise in developing the right financing package while overcoming the challenges of doing business during the COVID-19 pandemic."

"We're excited to contribute to the realization of this top-quality residential project in a highly desirable area," said William Rosato of Alpine Residential. "We are pleased to collaborate with Fields Grade Development and CIT in moving this project forward to a successful completion."

"This project is a great fit for our portfolio of projects in major metropolitan areas," said Chris Niederpruem, managing director and group head for CIT's Real Estate Finance business. "We are pleased to open a relationship with Fields Development and Alpine Residential in supporting this project, which we are confident will be an attractive residential property for the long term."

CIT's Real Estate Financebusiness, part of the Commercial Financedivision, originates and underwrites senior secured real estate transactions. With deep market expertise, underwriting experience and industry relationships, the group provides financing for single properties, property portfolios and loan portfolios.

About CIT CIT is a leading national bank focused on empowering businesses and personal savers with the financial agility to navigate their goals. CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) is a financial holding company with over a century of experience and operates a principal bank subsidiary, CIT Bank, N.A. (Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender). The company's commercial banking segment includes commercial financing, community association banking, middle market banking, equipment and vendor financing, factoring, railcar financing, treasury and payments services, and capital markets and asset management. CIT's consumer banking segment includes a national direct bank and regional branch network. Discover more at cit.com/about.

MEDIA RELATIONS:John M. Moran212-461-5507[emailprotected]

SOURCE CIT Group Inc.

http://www.cit.com

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CIT Provides $35.9 Million in Financing for Construction of Apartment Building - PRNewswire

People in a west-endneighbourhood will get a chance tonight to express their opinion ona controversialbuilding project that will bring 44 people experiencing homelessness and low-income individuals to the community.

At issue is the future of a vacant lot near Dundas Street West and DovercourtRoad where the Toronto Police Service 14 Division station once stood, on Harrison Street.

Local residents say they'd been led to believe13 single-family homes were slated for the lot. But that plan was scuttled earlier this month when council voted to fast-track the construction ofa modular 44-unitbuilding instead.

Scheduled to be ready for September, the building is to be reserved for people experiencinghomelessness and will also provide affordable housing for people with low incomes.

City staff say the COVID-19 pandemic, which has hit homeless shelters especially hard, spurred the decision to fast-track the project. So far, 610 COVID-19 cases have been linked to city shelters.

Staff will hold the second of two virtual town-hall meetings Wednesday evening from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. so people in the neighbourhood can provide their feedback.

"As COVID hit us, we wanted to expedite our response to homelessness, and a quicker delivery of housing," said Abi Bond, executive director of the city's housing secretariat.

"Because we hadn't reached a conclusion on this site and because the location is so good, we decided to shift gears and look at a different kind of housing delivery on this particular site."

But the speed with which the city shifted gears on the site plan has angered some in the community.

Michael Smele said the suggestion that single-family dwellings would be built on the site "fit in really well. It's a very family [oriented]community lots of schools nearby, lots of daycares."

He said the current project is happening too quickly and without proper consultation a concern shared by neighbour Gustavo Jabbaz.

"On June 2 we got this pamphlet saying the plans have changed;we're going to put in a site for homeless people," he said.

"No consultation, no questions, no nothing."

The city held the firstvirtual town-hall meetingslast week, but not everyone who wanted to speak was heard, according to Smele, who sat in on the meeting.

Story continues

As of Tuesdayafternoon, a petition asking the city to rethink the plan to build a modular apartment building had close to 400 signatures.

Not everyone in the neighbourhood is against the planned use of the site, though.

Resident Shay Zeyad told CBC Toronto: "I think it's a great idea." As someone who has a home, she said, "I don't have the privilege to talk about other people who don't."

Both Bond and Coun. Ana Bailo, who represents the area and also chairs the city's planning and housing committee, denied that the plan to house 13 families on the site was ever carved in stone.

"In April,council came to realize that we needed a better response to the homelessness issue that was in front of us," Bailosaid.

"We have 8,000 people who are sleeping either on the street or in our shelters and we think that providing housing with dignity and trying to respond to the pandemic with more permanent solutions is a good way to move forward."

And Bailo acknowledged the city is moving ahead unusually quickly.

"There is no question that it is moving fast, but we've asked the city to do unprecedented things: We've asked businesses to close their doors for months, we've asked people to stay home," she said.

"We've had to respond to this pandemic in unprecedented ways."

Both Bailo and Bond said neighbours will still have a chance to offer their input. But according to Bond, that input will be limited to things like the height of the building, and the density of the development.

"We've been trying to be clear with the community that no one gets to choose their neighbours," Bond said.

"So this isn't a consultation about who is moving in. This is a consultation about the project itself."

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Fast-tracked plan to build apartments for people experiencing homelessness gets push-back from neighbours - Yahoo News Canada

Busy with her career and friends, weekend travel and walking the lakes, Aditi Jariwala didnt need much from an apartment just a place to sleep, shower and hang her clothes before she dashed out again.

Im a minimalist. I dont want a lot of space because I dont have a lot of junk, said Jariwala, 24. Keeping things clean with no clutter gives me a clearer mind.

When Minnesotas stay-at-home order was issued, instead of taking the bus downtown for her job in banking, Jariwala joined the legions of workers who left the office to labor at home.

For her, theres no spare bedroom, den or basement alcove. Jariwalas apartment totals 374 square feet.

I moved my monitors on my table so I use it like a desk. If I have a call, I sit on my plushy armchair, she said. Now I eat at my coffee table.

Jariwala lives on the fourth floor at Tula, a two-year-old building in Uptown Minneapolis, where her rent runs $1,250 a month, plus $100 for utilities and internet. Shes among the scores of tenants of a new style of teeny-tiny apartments that have popped up like so many miniature mushrooms.

Often called micro units, they are downsized studio apartments located in upscale buildings in desirable, walkable neighborhoods Uptown, Dinkytown, North Loop, Northeast and along the Green Line in St. Paul. Tenants augment their own tight quarters through common spaces like snazzy co-working spaces, fitness centers, party rooms, dog runs and rooftop gardens where they can socialize, relax and work.

Generally speaking, we see that all of the newer apartment units have gotten smaller the one- and two-bedrooms as well as the studios, said Brent Wittenberg, vice president of the Twin Cities office of Marquette Advisors, which tracks trends in market rate apartment inventory in the Twin Cities region.

Theres no exact definition for micro units, but as a rule of thumb, they are apartments that measure 500 square feet or smaller and are classified as studio units.

Marquette Advisors found that while 7.5% of the 200,000 apartments in the seven-country metro region are studios, the share of one-room units is shooting up. Their research compiled in the first quarter of 2020 noted a 33% hike in the number of new studios over the past five years.

The micro units started in Minneapolis and now theyre branching out. Were starting to see units under 500 square feet coming to the suburbs, too, Wittenberg said.

Smallest of the small

The smallest of the small apartments arrived about a decade ago in the U.S. cities long known for high density and soaring rental costs. Sometimes whittled down to a mere 220 square feet, early micro units gained traction among renters in Seattle, San Francisco, New York and Boston.

As housing availability tightened nationwide, micro units became a popular alternative in most other metro areas. The reduced-size dwellings are currently being studied as one solution for housing the growing number of homeless people.

In the Twin Cities, the shrunken spaces appeal to single professionals 40 and younger.

Small apartments fit with the millennial mind-set, which is all about maximizing the experiential components of life. Its not things that define you; its your experiences, said Lisa Walden, a workplace and generational consultant with Minneapolis-based Good Co.

Micro units buck the baby boomer idea that homes give you status. Millennials dont want to be tied down like that, she said.

Walden, 34, a millennial herself, thinks the green aspects of a small footprint also appeal to younger tenants.

From an environmental standpoint, using less is appealing, from the construction materials to cost of their utility bills.

Cramped or efficient?

One persons cramped and claustrophobic is another persons compact and efficient.

Micro units are the Swiss Army knife of apartments, cleverly designed to maximize a floor plans every square inch with floor-to-ceiling or oversized windows and higher ceilings that give an illusion of space. Even furnishings pivot; some dwellings of 350 to 450 square feet have hideaway Murphy beds and convertible tables that fold up to add to living space.

Balconies were considered impractical in the Twin Cities because of the weather but we started adding them. Everyone wants that indoor/outdoor element to extend their space, put out their herb pots, said developer Curt Gunsbury, whose business, Solhem Companies, has in the past decade developed more than a dozen Twin Cities apartment buildings featuring micro units.

He builds his micro units with walk-in closets, full bathrooms code requires them to be accessible, meaning large enough to accommodate a wheelchair and a kitchen equipped with a stove, refrigerator and dishwasher.

Large dining room space is no longer valued; young people dont want them. They work on their computers so theyre looking for a place to perch, he said. TVs used to drive the space but because flat screens are shallower, you can shrink 2 feet from the living area.

During the pandemic, the Solhem buildings added rules and guidelines to keep the much-prized community spaces open for tenants and spare them from cabin fever.

In the era of social distancing, groups were forbidden from gathering in common areas. Furniture in lounges, lobbies and libraries was rearranged to discourage the very coziness the areas once promoted. The distance between exercise machines in building gyms was widened. Cleaning crews come in more frequently, armed with hospital-grade disinfectants.

Not scared away

Theres little doubt that the many restrictions brought on by the pandemic will linger. The course of the coronavirus has proven unpredictable, and some public health officials warn that a second curve is coming and may disrupt workplace routines again later this year.

But the risk of a rebound doesnt seem to be scaring renters away from their pint-sized urban apartments.

Its not going away. Were still bullish on the micro trend and city living, said Wittenberg. After 9/11, a great exodus to the suburbs was predicted. The reverse happened.

With five new apartment buildings now under construction or on the drawing board, Gunsbury has not backed away from the number of micro units that will be included in the mix of rental options, along with one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. He admits he is slightly surprised that so few of his tenants have opted out of the micro units since the shutdown.

Weve had more people extend leases than we expected. Not a single one has said theyre leaving because the place feels too small, he said. Typically, tenants transition because theyre ready to buy a house or they have a job transfer. Right now, people who have jobs are sticking with them.

But Aditi Jariwala will be moving from her 374-square-foot unit when her lease is up later this summer. Shes decided to bide her time and move back to her family home in a St. Paul suburb.

In the old world before the pandemic I would have renewed. But the rent was going up, and it didnt make sense to sign on at a higher price for the Uptown life without all the bars and restaurants and shopping, she sighed.

Maybe it would be fun to try a different neighborhood when things get back to normal. But I still wont want a big place.

Kevyn Burger is a Minneapolis freelance writer and broadcaster.

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Twin Cities micro apartments put to the test during the pandemic - Minneapolis Star Tribune

DARLINGTON As a third generation bar owner, Jared McGranahan is excited to follow in the family footsteps. Starting on July 1, McGranahan will be the new owner and operator of Boobys Bar, formerly Trailside Bar.

I have always wanted to get into the business, McGranahan said. This just felt like it was an itch we needed to scratch.

The bar venture had been an idea brewing inside McGranahan and his wife Kelleys heads for a while. Both have worked in the industry in different way; Kelley worked as a bartender in the past and before teaching, Jared was a Budweiser distributor.

They began talking about it more over the winter and took a chance to call owners of Trailside Bar and ask about its for sale status.

Once things got going, they really took off, Jared said. The next thing you know we are negotiating a price.

They agreed on everything in February and will close on the building on June 29.

McGranahan is originally from Darlington. His father, Bob McGranahan, owned a bar in Darlington for several years and his grandmother ran a bar in Green Island, Iowa. The name Booby originated from when Jared was little. He was told he looked very much like his father, whos nickname was Booby so he was called Little Booby.

Its a hand-me-down childhood nickname that seemed to stick, McGranahan said.

McGranahan, his wife and their family, 4-year-old daughter Brooklyn and sons Clint, 2-years-old and Hank, 8 months old are very excited about coming to Darlington.

We are absolutely excited to get into the community and get to know people. It is a great community and we are excited to get to know all the different faces, he said.

As a huge sports fan, Jared sees sports as a great avenue to bring people together.

I really want to meet the needs of a wide variety of clientele. I personally want to make sure we are catering to a diverse mixture of sports fans, McGranahan said.

They are open to having bands come in and play and getting in tune with the local music scene with some help from family members who are in local bands.

I want to make a party out of anything.

They will be open Wednesday thru Fridays at 6 p.m. and on Saturdays and Sundays open at noon. McGranahan hopes that when football season for college and NFL start they will be opening earlier during the week.

They will be specializing in a 32 ounce Long Island and hope that when you come to Boobys you will walk away knowing you had the best Long Island youve ever had.

We want people to know that they can come into Boobys and have a great social experience without costing them an arm and a leg. Boobys is about creating an environment to get the community together and have a good time and creating an inviting atmosphere.

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Booby's will be busting with a good time - Swnews4u

ITHACA, N.Y. For the mixed-use Asteri Ithaca project, it was a rough meeting last night. Repeated push-back from its neighbors developing Harold's Square was enough to give the Planning Board pause on whether or not the large Downtown mixed-use project could move forward as proposed. Several other projects also went through the board's nearly five-hour meeting last night on their road to final approval.

For those who like to read the agenda alongside their recaps, the 281-page PDF can be found here.

Rather unusually, the first major item on the agenda this month was a Special Permit, which can be triggered for uncommon use considerations in certain property zones. In this case, a family living in their home on Belle Sherman's Eastwood Avenue, which is zoned for one-family and two-family homes, wanted to take an existing mother-in-law apartment at the rear of their house and rent it out as a studio apartment rental. One neighbor wrote in support of the couple, while three spoke or wrote against renting out the studio in-law unit, with one letter saying "(w)e are concerned about changing the family-friendly cul-de-sac into a space occupied by unknown individuals...which would not be in keeping with the intended neighborhood street feel and the safety of the residents."

The board disagreed. So long as the tenant lease mandated the tenant parked in the driveway, they were comfortable with the proposal. "Everybody has the intent of this being a nice neighborhood. We need housing in Ithaca...the board is favored towards accessory dwelling units in owner-occupied housing," said Planning Board member McKenzie Jones. The board briefly discussed the short form environmental review, passed it unanimously, and passed the Special Permit unanimously.

Next up were lot subdivision reviews - these are when property lots in the city, legally known as parcels, seek some kind of reconfiguration, either to be split up, reshaped or consolidated. These tend to move quickly through the board, because they aren't physical changes that trigger an in-depth review.

The only one before the Planning Board was 209 Hudson Street, covered last month in the Board of Zoning Appeals summary here. The state court has told the board they have to issue the subdivision because the city of Ithaca lost its court battle, twice, over what the judges felt was an "arbitrary and capricious" subdivision denial two years prior. The new lot to be carved off of the north side of 209 Hudson Street's double-lot would be used to build a new duplex, and the board was comfortable with the design of the duplex. The subdivision passed unanimously.

Next on the agenda is the Site Plan Review, where the review of new building proposals happens. In the interest of not pushing 5,000 words like last month, if you want a description of the steps in the project approval process, the "Site Plan Review Primer" is here.

Just a quick refresher, the Planning Board looks at sketch plans, declares itself lead agency for environmental review, conducts a review and declares negative (adverse effects mitigated) or positive (potential harmful impacts, needs an Environmental Impact Statement), while concurrently performing design review for projects in certain neighborhoods for aesthetic impacts. Once those are all good and done, they vote on preliminary site plan approval and, after reviewing a few final details and remaining paperwork, final site plan approval.

At the top of the agenda this month, was the City Harbor project, proposed by Lambrou Real Estate, Edger Enterprises and businesswoman Elizabeth Classen on the site of the former Johnson's Boatyard at 101 Pier Road. As previously detailed, the two-phase project consists of a restaurant, waterfront promenade and marina, and 156 market-rate apartments. A 60,000 square-foot medical office building for Guthrie Clinic is part of the project. Phase one would also rebuild Pier Road to include sidewalks, street trees, a fire engine turnaround, and new and improving parking areas. While the project team plans to partner with the city to rebuild the golf course clubhouse in phase two, almost all improvements in phase one are on private property, with the exception of some of the greenspace and reconfigured parking areas.

Tonight's meeting didn't have any votes scheduled, it was focused strictly on design review. Preliminary project approval was granted last month, but the board wanted some aesthetic tweaks as one of the stipulations prior to final site plan approval.

T.G. Miller's David Herrick walked the board through new perspective renderings, while HOLT Architect's Steve Hugo fielded questions on the architecture and floor plans for the mixed-use buildings, and Whitham Planning and Design's Kate Chesebrough addressed questions on the landscaping. The board has brief questions regarding signage, trash collection, and whether three large willow trees will be maintained (two will be removed after an arborist noted they weren't healthy, but hundreds of new trees will be planted on-site.)

On the materials side, the waterfront buildings will use a rough-cut stone on the ground floor, with standing seam metal panels in a few different sizes and colors (Ascot White and Dark Bronze), and wood decking panel accents. Hugo said the design was inspired by the Sagamore Hotel in Lake George, which maybe it is, obliquely. Mechanical equipment is hidden in a "bathtub" concealed by the roof. Planning Board Chair Robert Lewis noted that it was a lot of metal on the outside, but it was well-differentiated. The project team is working on meeting the last of the preliminary final approval stipulations, and it sounds like July could be the final meeting for City Harbor.

Next up on the list for this month's review was the 11-story Asteri Ithaca Green Street Garage redevelopment at 120 East Green Street. The Asteri proposal by The Vecino Group includes a 218-unit low-moderate income apartment building with commercial space on the lower levels, and an expanded publicly-accessible garage next door, which will grow to seven floors with an additional 241 parking spaces (350 total).

As noted by city planners, the lower three floors of the U-shaped building will house amenities, a 49,000 square-foot conference center and a small amount of retail space. The Cinemopolis Plaza will keep its current public pedestrian passage between the Commons and Green Street, with lighting, signage, art, and landscaping improvements, though Cinemapolis will have to temporarily relocate for part of the construction period. The Vecino Group and their partners are also requesting consideration of a City Hall Plaza next door on the small parking lot between the project site and City Hall. That plaza would feature a large outdoor gathering spot with paving, lighting, landscaping, and furnishings while retaining a limited number of parking spaces.

This month, the board intended to go through some additional sections of the Full Environmental Assessment Form (FEAF) Part 3, which is a detailed report encapsulating impacts and proposed mitigation, and the board awaited more comments as part of the public hearing they held open from last month. From the agenda filings, it appears the general contractor for the project will be Welliver out of Montour Falls.

Vecino had at least nine people in on the Zoom meeting, able to speak on various aspects of the Asteri project. On the public hearing side of the discussion, a few local residents co-signed a letter advocated for the project and lauding its walkable location and affordability. The owners of the Cayuga Green Apartments across the street sent a letter opposing the plan, citing the impacts on Cinemapolis (who they have a sub-lease with), parking, and said the project was interfering with their legal rights. The owners of the Yellow Deli once again expressed concern about parking and impacts on loading zones for their business. Brent Bossard of Cinemapolis was taken aback by the Cayuga Green letter, and made clear that Cinemapolis was fine with the project, contrary to what Cayuga Green wrote, but Bossard did encourage the city to include Cayuga Green in the project conversation.

There were also several call-in speakers, mostly representing Harold's Square, who have been generally opposed to a neighbor blocking the views of their new apartments and taking up a lot of parking in the Green Street Garage. With all fairness, the buildings are close to each other (as shown in the video still above), and Harold's Square's developers are feeling anxious about two more similar-sized buildings a stone's throw from their brand new tower - relevant aside here, they struggled for years to get construction financing. The Harold's Square developers had submitted one of the four proposals (and the smallest proposal) to redevelop the garage in 2018, but it fell short in the scoring and was not selected by the IURA.

Chesebrough noted that Asteri is a U-shape purposely to provide light and air circulation for Harold's Square, and after meeting with the board for Design Project Review earlier, they are willing to consider pulling back 4.5 feet from the north side of Asteri's tower portion by reconfiguring the north face, deleting the balconies and some amenity space. City Planning Director noted concerns regarding the facade on the north and west side near street level, and Department of Public Works truck access at the rear.

"I'm a little bit torn. The visualization of the two buildings, trying to imagine the proposed building being there....I think my gut reaction is that the buildings are too close, or too tall. A part of me is feeling like this is a little too much and these need to be a little further apart. Part of what's troubling about this to me is that it does if you build a tall building and a second building comes along and has to be pushed back, that too is troubling to me in terms of property rights," said board member Garrick Blalock.

His colleague Mitch Glass largely agreed. "I'm also a little bit conflicted about this. 218 affordable housing units downtown is a great opportunity. The tower elements feel close. I appreciate the setback at terrace level, but I wonder if there are ways to set it back further. I'm troubled by what Harold's Square is pushing for. In terms of the parking, I'm concerned by the counts Jamie (Gensel, of the Harold's Square team) providing for parking, they seem too high...I feel like their parking comments are overstated, but I do feel a trip generation report is needed."

"I could get on board with supporting the height variance if you pull it back more," said board member Emily Petrina. "I'd like to see what it would look like at 25 feet (set back from Harold's Square)." Petrina and board member C. J. Randall both suggested it may be time to remove the conference center from the project, given the space concerns as well as COVID.

Chair Lewis summarized the wobbly position the Asteri team now seemed to find itself in. "You've heard a lot of concern about the spacing, you've heard some concerns about heights, and for my piece, when this project first came before the board, I liked the sense of life that was in the architecture, but as the design has developed, I'm not seeing that as much. I'm seeing something that is much more sterile. I'm sensitive to the trade-offs, taking back the corners while removing 4.5 feet. But I don't see how you can get at some of these concerns without deleting units. Maybe this can be resolved through cladding and articulation, but I don't see it." Lewis further encouraged the project team to show them what the project would look like without any zoning variances.

Project architect Bruce Adib-Yazdi said that the setback is largely driven by the ballroom of the conference center, and shrinking that as well as shrinking the number of affordable units would be the trade-off. Lewis said that they need to be shown what would be lost if the variances aren't allowed, so that they understand what happens and what exactly the negative trade-offs are, and help them decide whether to support the variances.

All in all, it didn't seem like anyone was pleased as the project's time wrapped up and the project's design seems much more uncertain. The discussion didn't go well for Vecino last night, and it seems like a major redesign will be needed, likely leading to the deletion of some apartments in the tower, which is 100% affordable housing.

One thing that did become clear after the discussion; the board was angry that Harold's Square hijacked a half-hour of the Public Hearing. Lewis seemed especially annoyed, describing the scene as developers "crying" about other developers. So while the Harold's Square developers might have gotten their desired pushback on Asteri, the board doesn't plan to let this commandeering of their meeting happen again.

Developer Jeff Rimland's 13-story proposal on the eastern end of the garage came back to the board to continue its public hearing and go through Design Review on the architecture and aesthetics. Unlike earlier incarnations, the latest design for the mixed-use building proposed for 215 East State Street no longer builds into the Rothschild Building and displaces the shops and shop-owners along the Commons, but went back to the initial proposal which builds atop a rebuilt eastern third of the garage.

Rimland's proposal rebuilds the eastern third of the garage with two levels of public parking (about 130 spaces), one ground-level private parking area for the building's occupants (34 spaces) and 10 floors of residential with approximately 200 apartments. A residential lobby would front Green Street, as well as an access hallway between the shops lining the Commons. Due to a professional conflict, Chair Lewis recused himself from the discussion, with Jones taking over as chair.

Project engineer James Trasher of CHA Inc. walked the board through the latest drawings, including program space plans. Trasher stressed they did negotiate with the Marriott for a mutually-agreeable amount of space between the buildings (30 feet). One letter was received in public comment, from Todd Kurzweil of the Sunny Days with various concerns, which sparked Jeff Rimland to remark on the letter as "slanderous", but there's also no love lost between those two.

Architect John Abisch highlighted the extensive accent lighting for safety and to draw attention to the lobby, and the use of corten steel on the facade. The materials and window trims are changed up along different faces of the building to make it not seem so "monolithic", and the accent lighting on the architectural bump-outs would be dimmable so that it's not overly obtrusive on tenants and neighbors.

Generally, the planning board's response was favorable to the project. Board member Glass said he loved the lighting and appreciated the articulation of the facade, but encouraged an enlivening of the garage facade, more work on making the windows articulated, and that tasteful signage would be welcome. His colleague Petrina liked the overall design, but had questions on planters and the unit layouts for apartments facing the taller central wing of the Green Street garage, to which Abisch said they are working with Vecino on it.

"Every time I see this project, I like it more and more, it's looking fantastic," said Blalock. "Is the Commons entrance meant to be a shortcut entrance for residents to the apartments, or is it a public entrance?...Is the entrance from the Commons meant to blend in, or look like a separate building?"

"It is a public way through, that is the plan. But as far as creating that dynamic between the tower and the Commons entrance, we saw that as a way to draw the tenants back into the structure," said Abisch. "We can go through a little further at the (Project Review Committee) meeting." Trasher later clarified it would be controlled public access, given potential security issues for the Rothschild Building's commercial tenants after hours.

"This is really coming along nicely, I really appreciate the materials you're using and the colors, it feels contextual. I hope for a positive resolution with you, Jeff and your tenants, best of luck with those issues," added Jones.

There is still much discussion to come on this and Asteri, as a special meeting is being planned in the second half of July to meet with those two project teams to coordinate plans and mutual concerns of the board on parking, aesthetics and other related matters.

Returning to the Planning Board this month after a brief hiatus were the mixed-use additions for the Aeroplane Factory on Taber and Brindley Streets, previously covered here. The project is proposed to be built in two phases. The first phase will consist of a four-story building with office space and retail on the first floor, office and residential on the second and third floors, and residential on the fourth floor, for a total of five apartments, 1,100 square feet of new retail space and approximately 6,000 square feet of new office space. Site improvements will include two new curb cuts, an outdoor patio (which sounds great for a warm summer evening like last night's meeting), landscaping, and a sidewalk and tree lawn along Taber Street. Phase 2 will include a 2,000 square-foot addition on the building closest to Taber Street.

This month, the board was set to vote on the "Determination of Environmental Significance", the likely negative declaration of State Environmental Quality Review that would mean all adverse impacts are effectively mitigated, and the project can be considered for preliminary site plan approval.

Like the project itself, the project team was a little smaller for the meeting, consisting of developer Jerry Dietz and the architect, Jason Demarest. Demarest led the board through the latest submission, and not a lot had changed, with some modest changes to the sidewalk and stormwater plans based on the recommendations of city engineers.

Being a fairly modest proposal, and with the board previously expressing support for the project and any proposed mitigation, the last part of the environmental review was uneventful, with only minor concerns about up-lighting and soils. But the vote to issue a declare a negative declaration passed unanimously, allowing the project to pursue preliminary approval next month.

New to the board this month was Cornell University's plan to renovate the freshmen woman's dormitory on their North Campus, Balch Hall. The details on the renovation for that nearly 100-year-old, 167,000 square-foot building were covered in the Voice earlier this month here.Renovations that affect the exterior of the building include replacing the windows, rebuilding and/or replacing gutters, downspouts, and minor exterior walls to allow for new waterproofing and facade work, and installing four roof bulkheads and dormers to accommodate new elevators. On the outside will be numerous landscaping and accessibility improvements, including new stairs, ramps and lighting.

Frankly, going into this there are two reasons to expect this project review to be smooth sailing. For one, Cornell's campus zoning is extremely flexible and allows just about anything the university could reasonably want so long as it directly supports the school's operations. For two, this is just a renovation with few exterior changes, so it doesn't usually receive the same level of scrutiny as a new build.

Cornell Project Manager Ram Vankat and university architect David Cutter presented the plans to the board. Vankat stressed the need to make the building ADA accessible, more environmentally sound (going for LEED Gold Certification), and address deferred maintenance now that brand new dorms were underway. The only area with any real controversy was Cornell's choice to replace the original steel-trim windows with steel replica aluminum windows. This was opposed by Historic Ithaca's Susan Holland, as well as a Rutgers professor who specializes in historic preservation. To give an idea of how quickly Cornell expects this to move, they hope to have approval by August, and plan for a one-year renovation period starting in the summer of 2021.

Board member Blalock encouraged a historic placard somewhere, and Glass expressed concerns over the window issue, noting that they would really, truly have to be replicas in form to be appropriate for Balch. Petrina generally supported the elevators dormers, but expressed hope to reduce the size of them if possible. She also supported the aluminum windows, but wanted to see more imagery of them to ensure they were a good fit.

"Those dormers are quite slick, and I hope those windows end up looking good," said chair Lewis. "It looks like you have a pretty tight timeline for approval, I hope that's feasible." The board quickly moved to declare themselves lead agency for environmental review, and the project will be back before the board next month.

As for the board itself, they're planning a working/training retreat for June 30th. Although the word "retreat" is in there, it's really just a day-long meeting to talk about policies and how to best utilize their roles on the board to advance the city's urban planning and economic goals.

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Planning Board Recap: Asteri project hits turbulence as Harold's Square pushes back - The Ithaca Voice