KTGY-designed $29 Million Mixed-use Senior Housing Development Planned in Downtown Portland

Aug. 16, 2011 - PRLog -- IRVINE, Calif. - Award-winning KTGY Group, Inc., Architecture and Planning, is pleased to announce that it is providing architectural design services for a new $29 million pedestrian-oriented 132-unit mixed-use senior housing community situated near downtown Portland, Oregon. Developed by the Foursquare Foundation, the city approved entitlements for the project in March 2011. The project is slated to commence construction in the spring of 2012 and be completed in approximately 18 months.

Intended for LEED Gold certification, the 1.36-acre eco-friendly Foursquare Senior Living community will be built on the site of a former surface parking lot located at the southeast corner of 12th Avenue and Burnside Street, across the street from the Foursquare Church office. The mixed-use apartment community will feature about 6,300 square feet of ground floor retail and provide 132 one- and two-bedroom apartment homes for active seniors 62 years of age and over. The community offers 110 one-bedroom, one-bath homes with approximately 600 square feet and 22 two-bedroom, two-bath homes with approximately 900 square feet. Both plans offer a flexible, open layout and have either a private patio or balcony.

The architecture is distinctly contemporary with simple lines and a well-dressed palette of materials that blend well with the established neighborhood. The retail and residential lobby with five stories of residential above create an urban edge facing Burnside Street. A future trolley line is planned along Burnside Street, which will provide convenient transit for residents across the Willamette River to Downtown Portland. Respecting single-family neighborhood on the site's lower side, facing Ankeny Street, the building has been designed to step down to four and then three stories with nearly 7,600 square feet of rooftop garden terrace.

Additionally, the design organizes the apartment homes around a central courtyard and provides intimate "outdoor rooms" for residents to relax. Residents are treated to a 4,869-square-foot recreational center along with a hobby/craft room, a computer center, and a fitness center across the hall. Carefully executed common open spaces are a breath of fresh air as well as the roof top garden terrace, which residents can enjoy and doubles as an eco-roof storm water treatment system. Residents can also relish a barbecue area, espresso café, and comfortable lounging areas, and great city views from the garden terrace.  

"Being close to transit, access to dining and entertainment and the ability to enjoy some of the things that come with urban city life are all great amenities outside the building itself," said KTGY Principal Manny Gonzalez, AIA, LEED AP and lead designer on the project. "Foursquare Senior Living community's building amenities include those things that residents typically leave behind in single-family living and are not often found in an apartment community, such as: gardening, a 'bark park' with dog washing area, and workshop area for the do-it-yourselfers."

According to Dr. Greg Campbell, executive director for Foursquare Foundation of Los Angeles, "Our goal is to enhance resident comfort and health by maintaining a residential environment that promotes environmentally-responsible living and help reduce our residents' utility costs by incorporating the latest technology in energy conservation. The apartment community's sustainable design, eco-friendly features and smoke-free community support the residents' healthy living practice and reduce the community's carbon footprint."  

Features include "cool roof" technology to reduce the heat island effect, ENERGY STAR rated lighting, windows and appliances, water-saving fixtures and toilets, and a community recycling program. Reduced exterior lighting reduces light pollution and energy demand. The use of low-emitting materials for interior finishes reduce air contaminants, which may be harmful to installers and occupants. Furthermore, redevelopment of an existing site eliminates the need to build new infrastructure and conserves virgin land.

"In a time when jobs are in high demand, the construction and operation of a Foursquare Senior Living community will also create new opportunities for our local workforce," said Dr. Campbell. "Being good stewards of this wonderful community is important to the Foursquare Foundation. It is our goal to enhance this wonderful neighborhood and bring renewed hope and joy in a positive living environment for seniors.”

“An affordable senior community like Foursquare Senior Living community, can make all the difference in someone’s life,” Dr. Campbell added.

The Foursquare Senior Living community in Portland recently received a Gold Nugget Award of Merit in the category of "On the Boards Multifamily Community" in 2011.

In March 2011, the Foursquare Foundation started construction on a new senior living residential community in one of Los Angeles’ most historic neighborhoods, Echo Park. Designed by KTGY, this new eco-friendly, pedestrian- and transit-oriented, 1.24-acre urban in-fill redevelopment project replaces some older housing units with 75 affordable senior apartment homes. Situated directly across from Echo Park, Parkview Living will help mitigate the soaring demand for quality affordable housing to active seniors 62 years of age and over. Parkview Living, A Foursquare Senior Living community, will be located across the street from the 88-year-old Angelus Temple, which is home to the Foursquare Church. The new development received the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) 50+ Council’s 2009 Gold Award for the Best Multifamily Rental 50+ Community (Affordable) - On The Boards.

About KTGY Group, Inc.
Established in 1991, KTGY Group, Inc., Architecture + Planning, provides comprehensive planning and award-winning architectural design services for residential communities, retail, hospitality, mixed-use and related specialty developments. KTGY delivers innovative solutions that reflect clear understanding of development, marketing and financial performance and takes particular pride in its highly motivated and principal led studios. Serving clients worldwide, KTGY maintains offices in Irvine, Oakland and Santa Monica, Calif., Denver, Colo., and Tysons Corner, Va. See www.ktgy.com.