Alexan Central Park Wins Multi-Family Residential Urban Development of the Year

 

From Left: Project Manager Che Fortaleza, Principal Robin Murphy, Principal Matt Laase, Principal Katerina Prochaska at the 2021 NAIOPWA Night of the Stars gala at the Hyatt Regency in Bellevue, Washington.

Alexan Central Park*, a mixed-use apartment building designed by JMA and centrally located in Downtown Redmond, received the award for Multi-Family Residential Urban Development of the Year at NAIOP’s 2021 Night of the Stars gala on Friday night.  

*The building was recently sold to Equity Residential and renamed Zephyr on the Park. The award honored the original name and development team.

 
 

Accessible

Sitting on Redmond’s Downtown Park, the development is connected to the Downtown Park by sharing its plaza and primary entry with a large, landscaped curb bulb which faces the Northwest corner of the park. The 191-stall parking garage sits above ground along the alley and adjacent property. The “wrap” design allows residents to park on the level of their unit.

Residents enjoy easy access to shopping, dining, transportation, and outdoor activities. The building is only a few blocks from the city’s library, civic center, park & ride, and skate park. It offers 5-minute walks to the Redmond Transit Center, the NW corner of the Redmond Central Connector Park, and the Heron Rookery trailhead, as well as 10-minute walks to Redmond Square and Redmond Town Center.

Affordable

Alexan Central Park offers a select number of units with restricted rents and income eligibility requirements through ARCH (A Regional Coalition for Housing), a program administered by King Country and 16 municipalities to help preserve housing for low and moderate-income households.

Comfortable

Residents enjoy a sleek and colorful main lobby with retail access. Other amenities include a gym, a central courtyard with a park overlook, a rooftop deck with a view of Lake Sammamish, a dog washing station, a bike shop, and long-term bike storage areas. The plaza offers lush landscaping and a custom bronze fountain for residents to enjoy as they sit and relax.

The rooftop includes a clubhouse with a kitchenette and restrooms, as well as a rollup door to take advantage of natural light. On the exterior deck, residents can watch movies on a big screen and BBQ on stainless-steel grills, all while being protected under a large structural canopy. A gas fire pit offers seating with stunning views of the park. To return home, residents can use the skybridge for easy access to the main elevators.

Scenic

The Southwest corner of the building includes an opening which allows light and air into the central courtyard, and this opening also leads to a public plaza facing the Downtown Park. The building is tall and multi-functional, but still maintains the openness of Downtown Redmond. In addition to having the highest roof deck in Redmond, the building’s south-facing courtyard opens to the sun and the civic park.

Strategic window placement and limited use of balconies create a progressive character to the development, setting it apart from other buildings in the vicinity. The exterior materials bring a refined yet modern and vibrant palette to the continued redevelopment of Redmond's core.

Sustainable

The 193-unit apartment building obtained a three-Star rating in the MBA BuiltGreen program. Throughout the building, the project team installed low energy equipment including Energy Star appliances, full LED lighting with exterior time clocks, HVAC mini-split systems in 98 units, as well as a common area heat exchanger in the fitness room.

The building’s high-water table is mitigated with an above-ground parking garage which is concealed on the street sides. The building also shares utilities with its busy Southwest intersection which is a positive solution for a site with complicated utility connections and confined site access. The Southeast corner of the building responds to neighboring development with stepped back mass and shoulders, allowing more light to reach the garden on the west side of the building.

 
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