The world is changing, and the baby boom generation is moving off stage while the millennials and Gen-Z begin to enter. For the housing market, that means not only demand for new types of housing—entry level and multifamily versus second move-up—it also means meeting the interests of these emerging markets. Young people today have different demands in housing than their parents and grandparents did.
An apartment building reflects the history of the neighborhood and captures its vibrant present
The Freight Yards, an apartment building in Tallahassee, Fla., attempts to meet those needs. Set in a burgeoning area of the city near Florida State University, the apartments meet the needs of young people interested in being part of a lively art and restaurant scene. And it does so with unique amenities, exciting use of materials and a devotion to sustainability.
The apartment building is also part of a phased build-out of the area that will include restaurants, boutiques and other amenities.
Photos: Matt Horton, hortonphotoinc.com
A Change of Plans
The original intent of the owner/developer, according to Michael Conn, AIA, NCARB, was to stack shipping containers and use each one as an individual apartment. The hope was to build efficiently and provide low-cost living space for college students and others. Conn is president of Conn Architects, Tallahassee, which provided the design work for the project and has been involved in the phased build-out. “But the city doesn’t like containers,” he says. The problem is that as soon as you cut into one to make it work, you have to redo the structural integrity, which required extensive back and forth between the city building department and the designers to meet their requirements.
The owners had access to shipping containers and intended to build three stories high with six containers across. Each container was 20 feet long and would contain a bathroom, bedroom, living room and small kitchen, designed to rent at $500 per month.
“When you start making them something they’re not meant to be,” says Conn, “they’re no longer as efficient after you add insulation, wiring and mechanical. When you make a change, you have changed the structural capability of the container.”
That required a change of plans because the city demanded so many changes to the containers that they were no longer efficient. “The city didn’t let us get away with anything,” says Conn. “The owner was patient, but not that patient. So, the multifamily unit was wood framed and the shipping containers were used as accessories for storage, recycling and things like that.” Arranged across the back of the property, the containers form a courtyard for apartment residents and create a unique living space. Part of that space are steel columns, which were originally installed to support a three-story building but now serve as sculptural pieces in the garden.
A New Look
The shipping container concept didn’t disappear entirely. To match the ethos of the idea, Conn specified Elk Grove Village, Ill.-based Petersen Aluminum Corp.’s Precision Series Highline S-1 wall panels with a weathered steel color. The PAC-CLAD panels matched the shipping container aesthetic, and the rustic palette emphasized the look. That palette is further emphasized by the brightly painted shipping containers that serve as the storage facilities along the back property line.
Garrison Design & Construction Inc., Tallahassee, installed the wall panels. Dustin Lord, vice president, says, “It was a pretty square building, so pretty straightforward. The porches were a little tricky to trim around, but most of the challenge was finding the product to mimic the storage containers.” Because of the depth of the panels and their 3-inch grooves, flashing around the I-beams that cantilever out for the porches involved cover measurement and precision folding.
Garrison spent about two months on the job installing wall panels and the standing seam metal roof, which was supplied by Berridge Manufacturing Co., San Antonio. Part of the challenge was the tightness of the lot. The installers negotiated with neighbors for access to the building.
The tight lot isn’t a coincidence. The apartment building sits in the middle of what was the freight yard for Tallahassee where coal was brought in by train to heat the city. The city, though, desired a different look, so it changed zoning requirements to allow zero setbacks from the property line. The intent was to create a denser, more urban environment. “Tallahassee is now one of the densest cities,” says Conn. “The whole Gaines Street area [where the apartment building sits] is unrecognizable. It looks like a city; before it was an industrial shipping area.”
Meeting the Demands of a New Generation
One of the biggest changes between the housing desires of baby boomers and millennials or Gen-Z is their approach to alternative energy. The entire phased development of the Freight Yards is designed to be net zero energy, and the 8,800-square-foot apartment building features a solar array that completely covers the roof.
Installed by Independent Green Technologies LLC, Tallahassee, the solar array comprises 137 panels that provide 41,100 watts of power with each panel outputting 300 watts. Installers fastened the solar rack to the standing seam metal roof with clamps from S-5!, Colorado Springs, Colo.
While renters won’t be living in shipping containers, they will be enjoying a more amenable environment that refers to that rustic influence and do so enjoying the benefits of advanced technology.
