Simplistic, thoughtful and well-planned communities are often what’s missing as neighborhoods meld with the surrounding area.
The country’s housing shortage remains acute for low-income households due to multiple challenges—rising housing prices, stagnant wages, limited supply and high demand, increasing construction costs and conversion of affordable units to market rate.
Yet, affordable, rental communities are slowly emerging that reflect creative, durable housing to meet a variety of needs. In best case scenarios, the right mix helps residents become upwardly mobile and independent, says developer John B. Cruz III, President and CEO of third-generation, family-owned Cruz Companies.
State incentives
Due to state legislation, affordable units are encouraged to be added to market-rate developments to streamline the approval process. The Massachusetts Comprehensive Permit Act, also known as Chapter 40B, encourages development of affordable housing by enabling local zoning appeals boards to approve housing developments under flexible rules if at least 20% to 25% of units have long-term affordability restrictions, reducing barriers to affordable housing development, says architect Jay Szymanski, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP, Principal, The Architectural Team (TAT).
New Jersey’s 2025 Affordable Housing Compliance Plan specifies what each community must provide by 2035, based on its population growth and other factors. Even small townships like Princeton must add 276 affordable units by 2035, says architect Joshua Zinder, AIA, of JZA+D. Its number was low compared to some other towns because Princeton came close to meeting its obligations of 753 units for the previous compliance round, Zinder says.
Another incentive encourages the use of church-owned land. In Florida, developer Miles Alexander III, Principal, Alexander Goshen, says the state’s SB 1730 allows developers to move faster due to fewer zoning and entitlement obstacles when they work on church property. The authorization aligns with his firm’s philosophy of community-led development. “Religious institutions often best understand local needs for affordable housing,” he says. Similarly, in Massachusetts’ Roxbury neighborhood, TAT serves as architect for Drexel Village, which will feature the renovation of the St. Katharine Drexel Parish Center, plus 217 mixed-income rental and homeowner housing units, retail, commercial and social services spaces with daycare and open space for passive and active use. The proposed 2.46-acre project combines Archdiocese-owned property with adjacent Boston-owned parcels offered for development.
Other financial aid
Passage of the federal government’s Reconciliation Bill means historic Low-Income Housing Tax Credit investment is expected to spur development and finance more than 1.22 million affordable homes beginning next year and over the next decade, according to Novogradac. Due to the legislation, Cruz expects the timeline for its five deals in the pipeline to be cut in half. Going forward, Cruz expects to increase deals in markets where the firm works. “The first project we did back in 1972 was the Taurus Apartments, and it took more than two years and now the timetable has become four to six [years] and occasionally longer,” he says.
Alexander says more projects make greater use of layered capital that helps them overcome rising construction costs. His firm leverages tools such as LIHTC, CDBG, HOME, New Markets Tax Credits and green incentives tied to energy efficiency such as roof panels. It’s exploring impact investment and nonprofit joint ventures to expand access to flexible financing sources and looking at shared equity models and long-term affordability structures such as land trusts to ensure that developments remain available for generations, he says.
Strategic placement
Creating affordable housing as equitable transit-oriented developments (ETOD) in underserved areas helps connect residents to the broader community and supports more inclusive, accessible neighborhoods, says Charlton Hamer, Senior Vice President, Habitat Affordable Group. At Habitat’s multiphase 43 Green development in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood, more than 180 new apartments will have access to the 43rd Street Green Stop Station, a short ride from the bustling Loop. “Unfortunately, many neighborhoods have not had the opportunity to benefit from transit-oriented growth, as nearly 90% of TODs have historically been concentrated on the North Side and downtown,” Hamer says. “43 Green shifts that narrative by bringing meaningful transit-oriented investment to a community that has long been overlooked.” Locating buildings near other services helps avoid duplicating efforts, says David Block, Director of Development, Evergreen Real Estate Group.
Simplified designs
Simplified building mass helps reduce construction complexity and costs and can improve thermal efficiency, says Szymanski. Zinder also leans toward simpler forms with quality materials for a less institutional, more sustainable design. Newer construction methods in conjunction with more durable materials also help. Alexander says his firm increasingly turns to modular builds, panelized framing and composite materials that reduce waste, lower operational energy usage and are more durable, helping survive adverse weather.
Eugene Flotteron, AIA, Principal and Director of Architecture at CetraRuddy, takes a similar approach with his choice of cost-effective materials and techniques such as block and plank rather than reinforced concrete. “We pride ourselves on being creative with a budget, but that’s also true for our market-rate projects,” he says. Some firms bring other considerations into play. Cruz Companies prides itself on using materials and a style that matches a neighborhood. Architect Tim Baker, co-founder and CEO of Baker Barrios Architects, emphasizes what’s at the front door and inside with upgraded amenities and units rather than highlighting the exterior.
Smaller becomes better
Curtailing resources by going smaller saves on many fronts, from the economics of building to greater energy efficiency, fewer units and what’s inside them. Alexander’s firm does this by focusing on small-to-midscale developments of 50 to 200 units that blend into existing neighborhoods and foster a greater feeling of intimacy, safety and shared purpose, he says, adding, “they allow for affordability and density without sacrificing dignity of design.” For example, Thomasville Heights in Atlanta, a partnership between his firm and the city with 116 units of multifamily townhomes and single-family homes—rentals and for-sale—and walkable green space, is designed to engage multigenerational living. Zinder took a similar approach in re-imagining a historic Masonic lodge at 30 Maclean Street near downtown Princeton to include two affordable units in a 10-unit building.
Bigger for communities
Baker Barrios’ expertise in master planning large-scale blighted areas to become sustainable, thriving communities permits it to offer services that create a hub of activity. Among the firm’s first steps is to organize a board with members who are residents and area experts to forge partnerships with the community. For example, Robles Park Village in Tampa, Fla., in partnership with PMG and the Tampa Housing Authority, is an affordable housing development on a 30-acre site undergoing redevelopment with master-planning, community engagement, branding, architecture and landscaping led by Baker Barrios. Once complete, it will include mixed-income multifamily, retail, parks and culturally inspired instillations, as well as a community hub to access a range of services, from financial wellness to health care, education and more.
Habitat took a similar approach with its mixed-use, mixed-income Ogden Commons community that it developed in partnership with health care provider Sinai Chicago on the city’s West Side. The 10-acre site will have 350 units and 120,000 square feet of commercial and retail space, including Sinai’s North Lawndale Medical Campus, which offers care within walking distance of residents’ homes, says Hamer. “It’s a holistic mixed-use model that Habitat hopes to replicate in other underserved neighborhoods,” he says.
Focus on key amenities
Alexander says there’s been a fundamental shift from simply creating places to live to designing communities that support the full spectrum of residents’ needs—economic, social and generational. His firm emphasizes multigenerational development and community-rooted design through choices such as farmers markets and services for financial literacy within walking distance of residences. Baker agrees, “The goal is quality rather than size and more about programming such as a bike room with repair shop.” What’s selected is targeted for a specific neighborhood, Block says. Needs addressed most include:
Children
Offering options for children and sometimes multigenerational family members or seniors, and those sometimes living nearby, has become a priority. Often, a third-party provider sets up and manages choices. TAT designed the Tierney Learning Center, a standalone community hub in the first phase of a six-phase project for the 887-unit affordable housing property, The Anne M. Lynch Homes at Old Colony, a public-private partnership between developer Beacon Communities and the Boston Housing Authority. The south Boston-area facility provides multigenerational support services such as the ABCD Head Start, YMCA after-school program, Boston Public Schools Summer Learning Academy and other supportive services for adults and seniors. At another multi-use, mixed-income property with 127 units, Tempo in Providence, TAT included a daycare facility in the building, plus a rooftop deck, lounge and fitness studio.
Cruz Companies typically adds daycare, recreation rooms and computer labs, and usually a furnished outdoor play area in a backyard or courtyard, “so children don’t play on sidewalks with traffic,” Cruz says. Habitat also recognizes this need for outdoor play areas and partners with third-party providers for daycare centers and other vital services. It is doing so with its 700-unit redevelopment of the former LeClaire Courts by working with an onsite daycare operator. There’s also an effort to include more units with two and three bedrooms as Evergreen Real Estate Group did at its Encuentro Square affordable housing community. Families also benefit from a playroom, laundry rooms on each floor and shared courtyard. The community is close to a YMCA that offers additional services and amenities. Evergreen donated $25,000 and volunteer hours to build a new playground adjacent to the YMCA.
Healthcare
With residents’ medical costs soaring and increased difficulty to find a provider, more firms like Alexander’s are embedding health care clinics at sites. TAT included doctors’ offices at its The Anne M. Lynch Phase 3C property to provide wellness checks, vaccines, fitness classes and a community meeting room. TAT also designed the St. Therese building including 77 senior apartments in Everett, Mass., to accommodate a ground-level health center.
Social interaction
Because it’s well known that isolation causes physical and emotional problems, design and programming help bring residents together. Mail rooms, laundry rooms, lobbies and outdoor areas with seating and tables encourage connection and conversations. When feasible, many senior developments include common laundry rooms on each floor with adjacent lounge seating, Szymanski says. Recreation options may sometimes be eliminated for budget cuts, but Zinder’s firm tries to add them affordably such as a pickleball court on a parking lot. And other fresh air options are sought by different ages with playgrounds, walking paths and seating, Szymanski says.
Additional needs
Some cohorts occupying certain affordable and supportive buildings require specialized care. At Clarkson Estates in Flatbush, Brooklyn, CetraRuddy’s design for 328 units under construction will house youth aging out of foster care and those formerly unhoused or involved in legal matters. Services will include dental health, wellness, advocacy, nutrition, security and computer literacy. The primary roof will have a running path, gardens and common area for residents, with a community kitchen at grade. The firm also incorporates windows on each floor for light and air and a laundry-, cellar-level gym by a garden, food pantry at grade open to the public, local art and furnished units. The Lirio will provide 112 units of permanently affordable housing in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen, including supportive housing targeted at formerly unhoused individuals and long-term survivors of HIV and AIDS, as well as affordable family housing.
As with market-rate communities, affordable housing focuses on the same goal of providing quality housing for those in search of it. The same underlying factors impact both, which include top-tier amenities, a place to meet fellow residents, simple but effective designs and distance to public transit.
Barbara Ballinger is a freelancer for units. She is the co-author of 20 books; her latest is Kitchen Conversation: Sharing Secrets to Kitchen Design Success (Images Publishing).