When the President of the United States, assorted cabinet members, and foreign dignitaries regularly fly in the Marine One helicopter over your community, quality control becomes job No. 1. Throw in the requirement that your housing stock needs to last half of a century with new families moving in and out on average every two years, and durability likewise commands center attention.
At Joint Base Andrews in Maryland just outside of Washington, D.C., Arlington, Va.-based Clark Realty Capital is answering that call of duty as it develops201 new residential units and renovates an existing 214 units at the home base of Air Force One.
“This is a high-profile installation, and we are cognizant that everything has to look fantastic,” says Clark Realty Capital development executive Sean Callahan. “But we think quality and durability can be mutually symbiotic, and we try to introduce that concept in construction wherever we possibly can.”
To that end, Clark and architecture firm Torti Gallas and Partners themed their development proposal around the concept “better than market-rate,” and delivered with 42-inch kitchen cabinets, Corian countertops, and Energy Star appliances inside the units, and pedestrian paths, jogging trails, and pools outside.
Clark incorporated a turnover-friendly design that embraces wide stairwells, ample storage, knockdown finishes to conceal scuff marks, and the choice of darker but stylish color schemes to alleviate longer-term signs of wear and tear.
“We look at the two goals of durability and building community as not mutually exclusive,” Callahan explains. “If families think they can get a better value elsewhere, they will move off base. Ultimately, we have to build communities that are designed to last for 50 years and continue to attract military families.”
