Tucson, Arizona
Published in Design for Aging Review 10
Size: 42,000 s.f. on 1.6 acre site (57 units)
Cost Estimate: $6,000,000
Design Completed: 2008
Construction Start Date: September 2009,
targeting LEED Gold Certification
Consultants
Civil: Dowl Engineers
Mechanical: SMU Mechanical Engineering, LLC
Electrical: Jerome E. McGetrick, Inc.
Electrical: GLHN, Inc.
Structural: Schneider & Associates, Inc.
Landscape: McGann & Associates
Owner Contact
Joy D. Taylor
Developer, HUD Consultant
2980 N. Swan Road, Suite 225
Tucson, AZ 85712
520.795.5886
This project is a continuation of an earlier feasibility study undertaken for the City of Tucson in the Sam Hughes neighborhood. The site is located on a former car dealership, and after extensive work with the neighborhood, a nonprofit housing joint venture between Tucson Housing Foundation and Catholic Community Services was created to build the project.
LRD assisted the non-profit in applying for a HUD 202 grant, which was funded in 2006. At the request of the neighborhood, the non-profit agreed to LEED certify the building. Because of tight budget constraints, the design team made every effort to maximize sustainable design without adding cost--for example, the project received substantial LEED points for its density, use of an existing infill site, and compliance with City of Tucson low water use and native plant ordinances. The project will be one of the first HUD projects to achieve LEED certification, and although the “Certified” level wastargeted, the project is now targeting Gold Certification. The project will include newly developed windows made from recycled materials, low water use plumbing fixtures, and highly efficient mechanical units.
Casitas is innovative on two fronts. First, although unit size and common areas are strictly limited by HUD requirements, the organization of the units around small scale courtyards provide a sense of smaller communities not found in typical HUD projects. Second, the project massing is derived from and reinforces the neighborhood urban fabric.
