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The estimated $8.8 million, four-story urban project combines 61 apartments, seven two-story live/work units and 4,000 square feet of commercial space to serve the neighboring Washington Group Plaza and the Parkcenter world across the bridge.
Privacy is behind the overall design of The 951, even with this new, 68-unit apartment structure wedged into the apex where Park Boulevard, Front Street and Parkcenter Boulevard converge.
Two walls of each bedroom have windows - a rarity in the apartment world. None of the windows peek into another apartment. Balconies are recessed from the structures outer walls, so neighbors and the pedestrians below don't get a look into others' patio life.
"I was sensitive to privacy," said Glenn Levie, owner of the Encino, Calif.-based architecture and development company, The Levie Group, which designed and built The 951. "The four walls of the bedrooms do not back up to a neighbor."
Faith Galliano Desai noticed that the master bedroom for herself and husband, Abhilash Desai, is across the apartment from the room for their 11-year-old son, Alexander. She also honed right in on The 951's sound insulation in the floors and walls.
The Desais have not moved in yet at The 951, but Faith is already looking forward to life without the sound of the neighbor taking a shower. That's been the problem in the downtown apartment where they have lived for the past year-and-a-half.
"You don't feel like you're in an apartment (at The 951)," Desai said. "You feel like you're living in a regular home."
The estimated $8.8 million, four-story urban project combines 61 apartments, seven two-story live/work units and 4,000 square feet of commercial space to serve the neighboring Washington Group Plaza and the Parkcenter world across the bridge. An unnamed coffee shop will fill 1,031 square feet, said Cathy Rosero, asset manager for 916 Front, LLC, the ownership group headed by Levie (The city changed the address from 916 to 951 in the three-year span it took to raise financing and build the complex).
"We are working with several commercial tenants for the rest of the space," Rosero said. "Hopefully, within a year they will all be filled."
Half the apartments are leased, but Rosero and property manager Koby Funderberg just started marketing the live/work units. The live/work units have office space at ground level with a door to the sidewalk and steps up to the living space, which has a primary entrance on the second floor.
"There's a tremendous amount of home-based business," Levie said. "To the extent I can provide entrepreneurs with a work space and living space, let's give it a shot."
The main facade presents windows flush with beige sustainable fiber-cement panels defined with aluminum accent channels. At street level, around the retail and live/work units, the windows are surrounded with green concealed fastener metal panels.
The recessed balconies break up the flat facade.
Strong geometric lines drove Levie's design. Instead of grouping the apartments around a courtyard, Lurie opted for interior corridors to give each apartment an outward view.
"My ambition in my building was to move away from the traditional suburban apartment and address the urban fabric with a modernity that is more conducive to a concentrated urban core," Levie said.
Levie has lived in Sun Valley and has built in Boise since 1993. He built Quads on the Park student housing for Boise State University and the 156-unit Mallard Pointe senior housing in Garden City.
The 951 offers one- and two-bedroom apartments varying from 796 to 1,140 square feet with monthly rents ranging from $850 to $1,400. The live/work spaces are 1,440 square feet for $1,450 per month.
"What you're getting for the price is terrific," Faith Desai said. "The fitness center is a big bonus. The Greenbelt is right next to us. The best feature is the overlarge kitchen. The kitchen is the heart of the home. The master bedroom has the largest walk-in closet I've ever seen."
Funderberg said the kitchens have 3 millimeter thick granite counters and stainless steel appliances. Each apartment comes with Category 5 cable with bandwidth capabilities up to 100 megabytes.
"You will have unlimited Internet access, if you want." Funderberg said.
Like the Desais, who moved to Boise from Baltimore, newcomers to Idaho are gravitating toward The 951, as are people who don't need large suburban homes.
"Empty nesters is our current demographic," Rosaro said. "We have a lot of people coming in from out of state that want something new. Then we have the professional single people."
(c) 2015 Dolan Media Newswires. All Rights Reserved.
Credit: Teya Vitu
(Copyright 2015 Dolan Media Newswires. All Rights Reserved)