New Haven, Connecticut: A four-storey affordable housing project is looking to do things a little differently, this time with mass timber.
Photo by Beulah Land Development Corporation
The non-profit Beulah Land Development Corporation, Spiritos Properties, and Gray Organschi Architecture are teaming up to build 340+ Dixwell. The two-building complex will provide a range of one, two and three-bedroom units for individuals and families challenged by housing costs, along with ground-floor commercial retail space with an aim to thread mixed-use elements into the project.
To explore affordable solutions and realise potential cost savings, 340+ Dixon will take advantage of faster, prefabricated construction techniques using a CLT honeycomb bearing system. A special report on the project writes, “[the system] provides the opportunity to expose more timber, creating warm, natural, hygroscopic approach, and helps achieve passive house performance easier, cutting long-term energy costs.”
Of the project’s 69 apartments, 80% will be reserved for those earning up to 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI). Another 20% will be what the team calls “supportive housing units,” and the remaining 20% will be market rate.
“The new project will not only transform a major corridor in Dixwell but lead the way in the use of mass timber to make deeply affordable and attractive housing, deeply needed in New Haven, a nearer reality,” says Darrel Brooks, chief operating officer at Beulah Land Development Corporation.
Source: ThinkWood
