Hines unveils denser design plan
Multifamily garden apartment projects will mean more units per site
The Houston developer Hines is heading to the suburbs for its next three multifamily projects with new, denser garden apartment designs by Meeks+Partners, a Houston architectural firm.
Such configurations, which can accommodate up to 30 units per acre, are being used by developers to address rising construction costs while maintaining competitive rental rates and enabling them to spend more on higher-end finishes inside the apartments and amenities such as outdoor entertainment areas. The Hines complexes are slated for completion in 2020.
Meeks+Partners’ designs can achieve up to 50 percent more units on a development site than traditional garden apartments, according to the firm, which is working with Hines on three projects. Garden apartments, a longtime staple of the suburban landscape, are traditionally comprised of multiple three-story buildings. From the 1970s to the 2000s, garden-style com
plexes were typically built with about 20 units per acre. Today, that ratio is rising to up to 30.
The 360-unit Cypress Creek Lakes Apartments in Cypress will have a density of 27 units per acre. The 328-unit West Lake Houston Apartments in northeast Houston will fit 22 units per acre. The 384-unit Champions Glen Apartments in Tomball will have nearly 30 units per acre.
Trevor Meeks, a partner at Meeks, said the design eliminates spaces such as exterior breezeways and unnecessary additional stair enclosures to allow developers to build more units while maintaining the amount of living space that generates rent.
“This not only allows developers an opportunity at lower land costs,” Meeks said, “but the individual buildings themselves are more affordable to build due to their efficiencies.”
The increased density allows for expanded amenities, while maintaining competitive rental rates, according to Meeks+Partners.
The projects will have from one to three bedrooms ranging from about 700 square feet to 1,700 square feet. Each complex will have a clubhouse with a great room, display kitchen, fitness center, business center, golf simulator and a resort-style pool with outdoor entertainment areas. Cypress Creek Lakes will have 15 apartment buildings, while the other projects will each have 12 each.
Closer to the city core, urban apartment complexes typically contain at least 40 units per acre, according to Meeks+Partners. That ratio can go into the hundreds of units per acre for vertical developments.
The higher density is evident in Hines’ other Houston apartment projects:
• WaterWall Place. Hines developed 322-unit WaterWall Place apartments on three acres near the Gerald D. Hines WaterWall Park next to the Galleria. It opened in 2014.
• 21eleven. The 215-unit complex was developed on 1.9 acres on the former Cafe Adobe restaurant at 2111 Westheimer.
The seven-story mid-rise opened in 2015 and is now named Pearl 21 Eleven.
• The Southmore. The 24-story building contains 233 units on 1.2 acres by the Museum District. It was completed in 2017.
• Aris Market Square. The 274unit, 32-story tower was built on less than an acre at 409 Travis downtown. It opened in 2017.
• The Preston. The downtown tower, at 46 stories, will be the tallest apartment building in Houston upon completion in 2022. The building at 414 Milam will have 373 units on less than an acre.
• La Colombe d’Or Hotel & Residences. The 34-story project in Montrose will have 265 apartment units on one acre. Completion is planned in the third quarter of 2020.