Cartwright Family Apartments

Cartwright Family Apartments offer much-needed affordable housing in one of California’s highest cost-of-living cities. With a portion of units set aside for veterans, this design takes an underutilized site and transforms it into an inviting place for people making less than median income. Efficiently delivering a high standard, this development is an asset to its community with spacious units and contextual design. Located in the Irvine Business Complex, this undertaking came out of a partnership between the city and our client, who utilized the local affordable housing framework to start development.

Built just a few blocks from our Irvine office, this design is of particular interest to the team that created it. The arrival sequence takes residents off busy Cartwright Road and to the quieter edge of the site for a private and secure feeling. The lobby greets residents with bike storage and a view to the courtyard and pool, around which the building has a horseshoe shape. Parking is a mix of tuck-under and additional surface spaces that occupy the less-usable corner of the site created by an easement. The facade treatment makes generous use of resident balconies to vary mass, and wood-look siding for an organic touch. Spacious units, private balconies and a tot lot round out a feature set that makes the new residents feel perfectly at home in Irvine.