Crescent Square 

The new Crescent Square will be a single resident occupancy development, consisting of 80 studio units and a one-bedroom unit for a resident night monitor. The building will also house support services for Virginia Supportive Housing to facilitate the achievement of their goal of providing permanent solutions to homelessness. The project will be a mixed-income community with units for homeless and low-income clients in the area. The building will be four stories with a 100% masonry façade. Each unit will be approximately 360 square feet and contain a kitchenette with full refrigerator and range oven, a full bathroom, and a closet. Furnishings will be provided in each apartment, including a bed, dresser, table, and two chairs. In addition to apartments, the building will have a variety of resident amenities including a community room built to the standards defined in VHDA’s Minimum Construction Guidelines with kitchen and outdoor patio, laundry facilities on each floor, a fitness room, phone room, and a computer room. The first floor will house all of the VSH support services, which will include property management offices, resident services offices, a front desk with security surveillance, a new resident laundry and bathing area, and miscellaneous office storage and equipment rooms. Site design is an integral piece to VSH’s program and Crescent Square will have multiple site amenities such as raised garden beds, a small orchard, a garden shed to store tools and equipment, and a covered seating area.

Church Street

The Church Street Development project involved the Virginia Supportive Housing Authority and LUNA Development. VSH’s single resident occupancy development consists of 80 studio units and a one-bedroom unit for a night monitor. It offers housing to both the homeless and low-income clients in the area. The building followed the standards defined in the VHDA’s Minimum Construction Guidelines. LUNA Development’s project has four 20-unit buildings. Each building has two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments. Though each client had different requirements for the site, both had the same goal of adding something beautiful to Church Street. The site itself brought forth the challenges of having residential units adjacent to a busy railroad, and it also lacked the city grid. In the initial site design, the railroad was lined with trees and a row of parking to establish a boundary between it and the residents. The grid was brought back by tying into existing streets and positioning buildings onto the main thoroughfare of Church Street. This gave the site more of a presence in the community, while the rest fades gracefully away from the business part of the community into a more residential neighborhood. Because the clients each have different needs but are sharing the same site, it was necessary to give the project a sense of cohesion.