In the 2020’s the residential landscape across the country is changing rapidly. The rise of work-from-home and hybrid jobs coming out of the pandemic of a few years ago, the growing interest in urban areas, and the general need for more housing at all socioeconomic levels have created the need for new solutions – and greater Cincinnati is no exception.
Childress and Cunningham has always been at the forefront of changes in the residential market. Our team has done the design work and managed construction for a wide variety of housing in the tri-state area. From apartments to high-end homes, new construction to adaptive reuse, our portfolio runs the gamut of what our clients call home.
One rapidly growing type of housing in Cincinnati is student housing. Although college enrollment is generally on a slow decline nationwide, Cincinnati is noteworthy in that our city is consistently bucking the trend, seeing notable gains year after year.
As universities expand the need for additional student housing, owners of nearby parcels are developing more units of their own. One such client tapped Childress and Cunningham to create a student apartment building that brings out the potential of an optimally located site. Our team worked with the client to create a 25-unit building with a mix of 2, 3, and 4 bedroom units that maximized the unit density within zoning limitations.
An efficient plan configuration connects the spacious and marketable apartments to generous public spaces such as a welcoming lobby, study, exercise and recreation rooms, laundry rooms and outdoor balconies. The sloping site was used to provide a level of parking under the building, which together with surface parking near the entry optimized off-street parking to obtain zoning approval.
Another avenue of change in the housing market has been driven by reinvestment in older neighborhoods in convenient central locations that may have been neglected in decades past. Vacant or underused parcels are seen to meet demand as interest comes back to the city. For this apartment complex in Mount Washington, Childress & Cunningham worked within the constraints of an odd shaped lot to provide multiple options to achieve a 60-unit apartment count.
This efficient layout utilizes existing curb cuts, and keeps the front building setback between 0′- 12′ from the property line to satisfy zoning. Required parking is created on-site without the need to purchase adjacent property.
In Cincinnati, centrally located neighborhoods with hillside sites may contain vacant properties due to challenging terrain. Many such sites are now being filled in, especially in areas with desirable views. See this article for projects where clients have enlisted us to create their dream home perched atop such sites. A new home on steep terrain will feature custom design elements as Childress & Cunningham responds to the unique topography.
Recent years have also shown a renewed interest in adaptive reuse projects. Infill projects can help solve the need for new housing units, but well built-out areas of the city call for a variety of clever solutions to incorporate the structures already present on the client’s property.
Some adaptive reuse projects create new housing from old, such is the case at these condos Childress & Cunningham converted near Eden Park. Originally worker housing, then subsidized housing, these historic buildings needed renovation and upgrades to become condominiums that retain much of their original character. In-unit laundries, new kitchens, baths, and finishes complement the stately high-ceiling living spaces. Childress & Cunningham’s knowledge of pertinent code issues led to practical solutions that avoid unnecessary construction costs.
Other clients have come to us with adaptive reuse goals that completely change their existing property in use and appearance to create a home. This project adds a new residence to the popular neighborhood of Clifton by building over an extensively reworked existing garage.
Inside, there is a surprising amount of living space given the compact footprint. Large, open living areas on the first floor let natural light pour through the space. A dual master-suite design at the second level provide each bedroom with walk-in closets, en-suite baths and extensive views from this elevated perch.
In this next project, the client wished to re-imagine a former laundromat into a private residence. The building is situated directly on the sidewalk with no setbacks around it, so it didn’t seem like an ideal candidate for a private residence. However, the client’s desire for this convenient location and something unique coupled with Childress & Cunningham’s ingenuity in residential design has created a desirable and comfortable living space.
Windowless areas at the left and rear of the building, where the existing building meets adjoining lots, become the location for a hearth/media room and the en-suite amenities for the master bedroom respectively. A large gourmet kitchen anchors the home at the center of an open vaulted living area featuring the building’s original exposed timber roof trusses. Living spaces occupy the street frontage, taking advantage of natural light through a large sectional retractable window. A side alley provides opportunity for a service entry and sunlight for the master bedroom.
Finally, another trend we’ve seen recently is the reuse of “brown fields” in the city, large empty spaces in otherwise dense inner suburbs that have opened up as other uses like manufacturing or big box stores moved out. The need for more housing has spurred development of townhome or condominium projects that have a higher density than the single family homes on small lots typical of these inner suburbs. These are often sizable plots of land, not single lots scattered around the block, and lend themselves to what’s often called the “missing middle” types of housing: not dense apartments, not single family.
Childress and Cunningham is adept at creating this higher-density infill while keeping the suburban feel. As an example, these Middletown, Ohio condominiums, are composed of clustered multi-unit buildings with lobby entrances and separate garages for each unit. Residential scale forms are achieved by breaking up the buildings into smaller sections in brick and contrasting clapboard siding.
This plan from another community shows how the garages can be cleverly attached to some of the units via a private mud room entry off the kitchen as commonly found in a single family home. Open kitchens, 10′ ceilings, and formal dining rooms with coved ceilings impart the feeling of a comfortable house rather than an apartment.
The need for more and varied residential construction makes Childress and Cunningham’s experience vital to our clients in the years to come as we help them navigate the changing housing market with the limitless variety of sites and housing types that they want to call home.
