The Enclave

Serving the Community

This 360,000 square foot, mixed-use, commercial, and student housing project is comprised of a new, eight-story facility constructed on an urban site located along Route 1. Program requirements include 351 parking spaces in a garage below the building and 665 student beds distributed over six levels. Leasable retail space of about 8,500 square feet is located at the street level.

Design

The building design includes two residential towers each with a flat roof and six residential levels. The residential towers are separated by a courtyard area located on the first floor. The courtyard structure is designed to accommodate shallow plantings and pavers.  The first floor serves as a transfer slab to support the residential levels above and, at the same time, creates a fire separation between the residential levels and the retail and parking below. The ground floor is located at street level and is divided into retail and parking. A basement and sub-basement provide additional parking and utility rooms. Each of the three parking levels is accessed from surrounding grades, eliminating the need for internal ramps. The design will accommodate a future pedestrian bridge spanning across Little Paint Branch, which is a small stream adjacent to the site. 

Facing Structural Challenges

A significant structural design challenge was posed by the existing site conditions. Beginning along Route 1, the entire site slopes down to the Little Paint Branch. A geotechnical investigation determined that the site was previously used as a rubble landfill. Thick layers of soft earth materials and construction debris were discovered. This uncontrolled fill material is unstable and tends to slough when saturated. This led to a major concern regarding the stability of the slope and how it would affect the proposed construction. A foundation design was developed by Century to address these challenging site conditions. Since a basement and sub-basement were already needed to accommodate parking, most of the unstable fill materials were removed. The remaining fill materials were modified in situ using Geopiers® to densify the soil, improve the safe bearing value, and mitigate excessive settlement. This procedure allowed the use of simple spread footings instead of costly deep foundations, saving the Owner considerable expense.

MEP Services

Electrically the building is served by two transformers, one 120/208V transformer and one 277/480V transformer. The 120/208V transformer provides power for a 3000A service that serves the apartment units. The 277/480V service provides power to the fire pump, the retail and the common area including the garage for the building. The service to the fire pump is provided directly to the fire pump controller and transfer switch. The lighting for the facility is mainly fluorescent and compact fluorescent fixtures both in the corridors and the resident rooms. All lighting levels were determined not only by IES standards but also the requirements of LEED® to maintain a more energy–efficient building. Century’s team also performed all plumbing and fire protection system layout, design, equipment sizing, and specification preparation. The HVAC systems were designed and zoned to provide an efficient, quiet, and comfortable means of heating and cooling the building.