The new 340+ Dixwell Apartments is one of the first affordable housing communities built with mass timber, a move that promotes environmental sustainability while providing residents with a healthy place to live.
PROJECT DETAILS
DEVELOPERS: HELPDevCo, Beulah Land Development, and Spiritos Properties
ARCHITECTS: Schadler Selnau Associates (project) and Gray Organschi Architecture (mass timber)
GENERAL CONTRACTOR: LaRosa Builders
MAJOR FUNDERS: National Equity Fund; TD Bank; city of New Haven; Connecticut Housing Finance Authority; Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development; Connecticut Department of Housing
An engineered wood product that has largely been used for commercial or upscale residential buildings, mass timber can provide more efficient construction, reduce carbon emissions, and add a beautiful natural finish.
Its use is especially meaningful at 340+ Dixwell, located in a neighborhood that has one of the highest rates of childhood asthma in New Haven, Connecticut. Officials note that studies have shown that mass timber can contribute to better air quality.
The team also succeeds in creating a mixed-income community with 14 market-rate units and 55 affordable homes, including 20 for formerly homeless individuals. The mix helps meet different needs, including those of large families, in a gentrifying neighborhood, says David Cleghorn, president of HelpDevCo, which developed the project along with Beulah Land Development and Spiritos Properties.
Schadler Selnau Associates
“The community is utilizing mass timber construction to create a wonderfully bright, vibrant, and healthy environment for people to live,” he says. “This is one of the very first affordable housing projects to be built with mass timber and will be certified passive house. We look forward to moving families into their new homes this summer.”
Other developers have asked to learn about the $30.5 million project, and the Yale University architecture program has been using it as a case study, according to Cleghorn.
