Larchmont Apartments

Larchmont Apartments

Asheville, NC | 

Residential, Affordable Housing

As a locally-owned firm, and as conscientious members of the Asheville community, we are committed to enhancing affordable housing options in our city. We were thrilled for the opportunity to design the Larchmont Apartments, a Mountain Housing Opportunities initiative, which provides 60 units of work-force housing in north Asheville. The 60,229 square-foot development, comprised of two three-story residential buildings and one community building, is perched on a 2.3 acre site at the top of East Larchmont Road off Merrimon Avenue.

Lisa Armstrong, a first floor resident at Larchmont Apartments said, “My favorite thing about my apartment is the bay window. It brings in lots of light and makes the apartment special.”  A bay window, which is a feature of every apartment, whether it is a one-, two-, or three-bedroom unit, is one of many elements we designed into the typical floorplan to add character and charm to the apartments. The development includes a community building, which provides common space to gather, work and play. The building is comprised of a community room with computer stations and exercise equipment, as well as kitchen, office and accessible toilets. The buildings are positioned to create protected open space, with a meandering path connecting a shaded courtyard, playground, and an outdoor pavilion.

Throughout the design process, community concerns were addressed through careful height and massing studies and renderings showing views of the proposed project in relation to neighboring structures and terrain. The Asheville City Council approved the conditional zoning requests and modifications including adjusted setbacks due to the steepness of the site, a decision that was critical to making the sixty-unit Larchmont Apartments an economically viable project.

Landscape Architect: Sitework Studios
Structural Engineer: Kloesel Engineering
MEP Engineer: Essential Systems Engineering
Photographer: J. Weiland (Photos 1-3)