Affordable Housing

Design that powers urban revitalization to profoundly improve the quality of life for the individual and the neighborhood.

Our Philosophy

BKV Group’s philosophy is that it is our responsibility to strengthen our communities and help our neighbors by creating affordable housing designs that improve individual’s lives. We understand that the homes we design create a foundation for the residents, their families, and their lives. We do this through both creativity and advocacy, with our firm having a long history of supporting and promoting affordable housing nationwide.

Our Expertise

Our expertise centers around designing to the cultural fabric of the community, using materials and systems that provide optimum value, functionality, flexibility, durability, and timeless quality. We create well-designed environments by understanding the core tenets of the affordable housing industry, delivery of services, marketplace, operations, and financing that support residents and their communities. Our projects create customized results, exceeding the expectations of the people your community serves. BKV Group’s dynamic experience in affordable housing is demonstrated through the variety of housing types we design within – all which have an overarching goal to establish the highest quality of affordable living that promotes and enhances community redevelopment.

SENIOR

  • Amenity spaces to promote community building within the property
  • Provide in-house and community services to residents
  • Focused site locations to maintain a connection with community
  • Providing both indoor and outdoor amenities for residents such as walk paths, patios, fire pits, and access to local shops

FAMILY

  • Flexible spaces that are accessible for residents of all ages.
  • Focused play area environments for children both indoors and out.
  • Walk up apartments to create a sense of place in the
    neighborhood.
  • Walkable neighborhoods
  • Residential units with openness and creative quality

 

 

 

 

WORKFORCE

  • Access to local transit into metro areas
  • Amenities focused on the health and well being of residents for both individual and group activities
  • Provide space or built-ins within units for office and desking
  • Natural landscape and exterior activities for social interaction

ARTIST

  • Amenities that support the livelihood of residents by including spaces such as painting, pottery, music studios and gallery space
  • Designing a collaborate environment to live and work in
  • Comprehensively addresses space, functional, operational, energy, and maintenance issues.
  • Focus on maximizing the functionality of the building

CREATIVE REUSE

  • Creates innovative, cost effective approaches to the improvements required and desired
  • Integrating the history and preserving key elements integrated into the design and story of the building
  • Focus on maximizing the functionality of the building
  • Building growth and revitalization to the neighborhood

Market Sector Leaders

MIKE KRYCH

Senior Design Leader, Managing Partner
Minneapolis, MN

MARK HARRIS

Senior Design Leader, Partner
Chicago, IL

chris palkowitsch

Senior Design Leader, Partner
Minneapolis, MN

LIZA KAPISAK

Director of Interior Design, Partner
Minneapolis, MN

David Banta

Senior Design Leader, Associate Partner
Washington, DC

News and Insights

The Washington Post Takes a Deep Dive into Artspace Silver Spring

The Washington Post singularly showcased our affordable housing and arts community, Artspace Silver Spring, this past March. The article describes how BKV Group “partnered with Artspace Projects, Inc., a nonprofit developer of live/work spaces for artists, and the Montgomery County Department of Housing and Community Affairs, to transform the Third District Police Station in Silver Spring, Md., into an arts and cultural hub that includes housing.” As live/work housing for artists becomes a greater need nationally, we hope this project provides a model for more communities to emulate. 

How Rehab Projects Preserve Affordability

In Multifamily & Affordable Housing Business, Mike Krych was interviewed about how affordable housing developers can use a variety of programs and incentives to bridge the gap between tax credit equity and construction costs. The key benefit of these affordable projects, as Mike states, is that “there’s such a shortage of affordable housing to begin with that to be able to provide that use for families or individuals to have a place to call home and a place they can be proud of – that’s a big part of the purpose here.” 

How Multifamily Design Can Be Applied to Affordable Housing Projects

BKV Group was asked to provide our design strategies for incorporating multi-family trends into next-generation affordable living projects with Mike Krych contributing insights to the “Affordable Meets Luxury In the Midwest” section of the article. Detailing specific approaches like the courtyard-style buildings at our 1500 Nicollet project, and the “economies of scale” used at Union Flats, Mike articulated that by achieving greater density, you can create affordable yet durable buildings to achieve the project’s desired aesthetic. Plus, deliver market-rate quality amenities to an affordable community serving those at or below 60% of AMI.