4 story, 64 units, LEED Platinum certification, type 5 construction

Leigh Avenue Senior Apartments is transit-oriented infill project located at 1690 Southwest Expressway, where Leigh Avenue and Southeast Expressway intersect. First Community Housing built 64 units of affordable senior apartments over 6,750 square feet of commercial space. All units are reserved for chronically homeless seniors, with one two-bedroom manager’s unit.

 The building is four stories, with a first floor concrete podium and 3 stories of wood frame construction above. Parking and commercial spaces are located at the ground level with residential units on the upper floors. Most of the units have private balconies and all are served by elevators. Common areas include the Property Manager, Social Service Coordinator, and Case Manager’s offices, centralized laundry facility, multiple community rooms and lounge areas, a large outdoor community courtyard at the podium level, community gardens and living roof, dog wash station, and computer lab.

As with other FCH new construction projects, the building was designed to achieve LEED Platinum designation. In addition, Leigh Ave. Senior Apartments is a pilot project for the Healthy Building Network’s HomeFree Initiative, whose goal is to improve the health of residents in affordable housing through the use of less toxic building materials.