The $16 million Project Open rental community of 112 one-bedroom units is the product of Giv Development, a Salt Lake City developer that specializes in mixed-income housing communities. Its not-for-profit arm explores new concepts for affordable, sustainable housing.
“We’re interested in developing a scalable net-zero model that will start to shift market dynamics and encourage developers to recognize that building this way is the economically intelligent thing to do,” said Giv Group Executive Director Chris Parker.
The all-electric building is located in the city’s Guadalupe neighborhood, an urban district on the front lines of gentrification. “We want the building to serve as a bulwark against the population being pushed out as property values continue to rise,” said Parker.
About 70% of Project Open’s units are set aside as affordable, some with rents as low as $375 a month. A historic furniture warehouse behind the building was converted into amenity spaces and 14 studio workspaces for rent by resident artists and entrepreneurs.
“I love what Giv is doing to make sure the neighborhood will remain affordable for people who have lived here for generations,” said tenant Valarie Williams. She moved into the building when it opened in January 2017 and also rents studio space for her part-time hand-lettering business. “The fact that it’s sustainable and also gives me a space in which to create was icing on a really great cake,” she said.
The clubhouse of Project Open resides in a historic furniture warehouse that Giv Development renovated into 14 affordable creative studios, a gym, and a conference room, in addition to the clubhouse. The reconstructed building is now another emission-free component of Giv’s Project Open complex. Photo: Brandon Hyatt Photography
Goldman Sachs, Olene Walker Housing Loan Fund, and Utah Housing Corporation provided funding. Although no solar tax credits were issued, Rocky Mountain Power set up the solar program and provided transportation and energy-efficiency rebates.
Lowering carbon emissions is a high priority in Salt Lake City. Air quality is particularly poor during winter months, when prolonged inversions cause cold, stagnant air to settle in mountain basins and trap pollutants. The metro area ranked eighth nationally in so-called PM2.5 spikes, which measure small particulate matter pollutants, according to the American Lung Association’s 2019 “State of the Air” report.
Addressing the region’s air quality problems is “an issue that has to be taken up collectively or no one gets much benefit,” said Parker. “Utah’s population is expected to double in the next 30 years, so there’s a bit of urgency here.”
FINE-TUNING THE carbon neutral apartment APPROACH
Space limitations on the roof made it impossible to power the entire six-story building with rooftop PVs. Instead, residents purchase their electricity from Rocky Mountain Power’s Subscriber Solar program, via solar panels housed at a power facility in central Utah. “The program offers reliable solar production without any upfront capital costs, which provides a real market incentive to move to electrification,” said Parker.
Each residence is heated and cooled by an individual heat pump, but Giv also opted to install a supplemental resistance heating system to make sure residents can stay warm in Utah’s brutal winters. Tankless electric water heaters added to total energy demand, necessitating an upgrade to a 150-amp circuit breaker in each unit.
“It really caught us off guard how difficult and time-consuming it was going to be to route power to the units,” said Tyler Hollon, Business Development Specialist at general contractor Wadman Corporation. “We had to run six-gauge wires to each unit and didn’t really plan for enough room in the walls to make everything fit.”
Hollon anticipates all-electric buildings will become the local standard as technology advancements and construction ingenuity continue to make the project economics more appealing. “I wouldn’t be surprised if half the units will be built this way in two years,” said Hollon, whose firm is currently building about 1,200 carbon-neutral residential units throughout the Salt Lake City area.
Related content: Deluxe parking: A condo building in Philadelphia offers its owners a completely automated parking service
Project Open phase two, currently under construction and scheduled to open later this year, will offer a wider range of living options, from live/work studio apartments to four-bedroom units. The two-building complex will integrate high-efficiency mini-split heat pumps, hybrid heat pump water heaters, and no-backup resistance heating units to save energy. It will also incorporate more amenities that support a low-carbon lifestyle, such as an electric vehicle ride-share program, e-bikes, and a fresh food space to lessen the need for frequent trips to the grocery store.
A planned third phase, expected to break ground in 2020, will incorporate some condominium units.
Ultimately, Giv wants to provide local developers, contractors, and architects with real-world residential models that outperform conventional properties from an economic, environmental, and social equity standpoint. Project Open is creating a public website where it will share real-time data on each building’s energy use, construction costs, and the specific building systems and products that were used.
“We envision Project Open as an open source research tool for anyone—including us—to keep thinking about solving the challenges we currently have with the way we build,” said Parker.
PROJECT TEAM | PROJECT OPEN, PHASE ONE
DEVELOPER Giv Development
ARCHITECT Architecture Belgique
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER Canyons Structural
CIVIL ENGINEER Focus Engineering
MEP ENGINEER PVE
ENERGY CONSULTANT Provident Energy
GENERAL CONTRACTOR Wadman Corporation
Photo: Brandon Hyatt Photography
Photo: Brandon Hyatt Photography
Photo: Brandon Hyatt Photography
Related Stories
Regulations | May 8, 2023
Supreme Court case likely to have huge impact on Clean Water Act
A case before the Supreme Court will likely determine how the Clean Water Act is interpreted and the ruling could open up new areas for development within or adjacent to wetlands.
Senior Living Design | May 8, 2023
Seattle senior living community aims to be world’s first to achieve Living Building Challenge designation
Aegis Living Lake Union in Seattle is the world’s first assisted living community designed to meet the rigorous Living Building Challenge certification. Completed in 2022, the Ankrom Moisan-designed, 70,000 sf-building is fully electrified. All commercial dryers, domestic hot water, and kitchen equipment are powered by electricity in lieu of gas, which reduces the facility’s carbon footprint.
Multifamily Housing | May 8, 2023
The average multifamily rent was $1,709 in April 2023, up for the second straight month
Despite economic headwinds, the multifamily housing market continues to demonstrate resilience, according to a new Yardi Matrix report.
University Buildings | May 5, 2023
New health sciences center at St. John’s University will feature geothermal heating, cooling
The recently topped off St. Vincent Health Sciences Center at St. John’s University in New York City will feature impressive green features including geothermal heating and cooling along with an array of rooftop solar panels. The geothermal field consists of 66 wells drilled 499 feet below ground which will help to heat and cool the 70,000 sf structure.
Office Buildings | May 4, 2023
In Southern California, a former industrial zone continues to revitalize with an award-winning office property
In Culver City, Calif., Del Amo Construction, a construction company based in Southern California, has completed the adaptive reuse of 3516 Schaefer St, a new office property. 3516 Schaefer is located in Culver City’s redeveloped Hayden Tract neighborhood, a former industrial zone that has become a technology and corporate hub.
Mass Timber | May 3, 2023
Gensler-designed mid-rise will be Houston’s first mass timber commercial office building
A Houston project plans to achieve two firsts: the city’s first mass timber commercial office project, and the state of Texas’s first commercial office building targeting net zero energy operational carbon upon completion next year. Framework @ Block 10 is owned and managed by Hicks Ventures, a Houston-based development company.
Market Data | May 2, 2023
Nonresidential construction spending up 0.7% in March 2023 versus previous month
National nonresidential construction spending increased by 0.7% in March, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data published today by the U.S. Census Bureau. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, nonresidential spending totaled $997.1 billion for the month.
Life of an Architect Podcast | May 2, 2023
Life of an Architect Podcast Ep. 124: Show Me the Money
I get asked a lot about how much money an architect makes. Without understanding a few parameters, that’s like trying to buy a car by the pound. I spend a fair amount of my time discussing the architectural marketplace, where we can find value, what’s the going salary rate based on skill set and experience, and how badly we need this spot or that spot filled.
Hotel Facilities | May 2, 2023
U.S. hotel construction up 9% in the first quarter of 2023, led by Marriott and Hilton
In the latest United States Construction Pipeline Trend Report from Lodging Econometrics (LE), analysts report that construction pipeline projects in the U.S. continue to increase, standing at 5,545 projects/658,207 rooms at the close of Q1 2023. Up 9% by both projects and rooms year-over-year (YOY); project totals at Q1 ‘23 are just 338 projects, or 5.7%, behind the all-time high of 5,883 projects recorded in Q2 2008.
Architects | May 1, 2023
HOK names Eli Hoisington and Susan Klumpp Williams as Co-CEOs
HOK has appointed Eli Hoisington, AIA, LEED AP, and Susan Klumpp Williams, AIA, LEED AP, as its new co-chief executive officers, succeeding Bill Hellmuth, FAIA, LEED AP, who passed away on April 6, shortly after his scheduled retirement.
