Retaining Walls

In addition to earning sustainable certification points for the use of regional materials or recycled content, retaining walls are also a great way to make otherwise unusable land, usable.

This retaining wall at Bishop’s Place in West Hartford, Connecticut, lends a nice aesthetic and maximizes the space on the property.

“Instead of grading out a slope and disturbing more land, a wall can be built keeping more existing grade and vegetation undisturbed,” explains Kevin McCarthy, principal, SITE solutions, Atlanta.

By leveling out rocky, uneven, or steep terrain, the newly found space can be used for parking, shared common spaces, or other uses. While the process of building the retaining wall does usually require engineering, the return on investment of creating new square footage may well be worth it.

“As part of a comprehensive landscape enhancement strategy, retaining walls can provide terracing for reduced runoff, detention, erosion control, and valuable planting regimes,” suggests Sorge. “Retaining walls and integrated amenities often allow for delineation between maintained and naturalized space and can be easier to achieve grade separation in narrow margins. They should be integrated to balance site grading and maintain natural conveyance of stormwater to the extent possible. Cast-in-place, precast, natural stone, other masonry, and segmented block retaining walls may be considered, each having their own positive and negative site impacts.”

In evaluating retaining wall systems, it is important to consider the structural, safety, and weathering capabilities needed for the project. It is also advantageous to have a selection of shapes, patterns, colors, size, and texture options from which to choose. Some of the newest wall systems on the market allow for the ultimate in creativity. Textures that match the grade paving stone, versatility in texture and style combined with structural capabilities truly allow for the designer’s vision to come to life.

Other add-on design possibilities include the inclusion of “seat walls” or the creation of a scupper for a waterfall feature. If the wall is tall, it might lend itself to strings of vines. “These choices need to be carefully calibrated to support the activities and amenities programs,” Cañamar-Clark says.

Reinforcing Brand Identity

In the big picture, the styles of pavers and slabs available for rooftop decks and on-grade are a great way for builders, developers, and multifamily/mixed-used property owners to differentiate themselves from the competition.

“When prominently displayed, roof decks create a luxurious image and sense of activity, and help sell the idea this is where you want to be,” Roberson explains.

Consequently, positioning the deck and outdoor spaces so they are easily visible by potential buyers and renters reinforces the developer/builder’s brand and is essential for increasing the odds of signing a contract.

“Resort-style pools prominently displayed from the leasing and community centers and spaces should nurture unique experiences that are visible upon first glance to prospective tenants,” he adds.

Similarly, a property’s curb appeal—which can be enhanced by great-looking pavers, active roof decks, and attractive landscaping—is key to making that great first impression.

In fact, 76 percent of real estate agents say that curb appeal is the number-one thing that builders and developers can do to make their properties more attractive to buyers, according to research by West Coast-based real estate agent broker HomeLight.⁸

In another study released by the National Association of REALTORS Research Department, with input from the National Association of Landscape Professionals, 94 percent of realtors suggest improving a property’s curb appeal to bring in more sellers/renters. Among the top five improvements, the study ranks an overall landscape upgrade and a new deck or patio as where to invest.⁹

How Multifamily and Mixed Use Will Evolve

Predictions compiled by Symone Strong, associate editor for 'BUILDER' and 'Multifamily Executive' magazines, shed light on the factors that are shaping the future of multi-family builds. She explains that "while many believe 2020 was a pivotal moment for residential design, some argue it was merely an accelerant. Before March 2020, attributes such as healthy home environments, sustainable qualities, work-from-home capabilities, and unique amenity offerings piqued the interests of many renters, but they weren’t necessarily top needs at the time. Ultimately, the effects of the pandemic pushed those trends to the forefront quickly, and the industry is shifting to accommodate." ¹⁰ Moving forward, these features for multifamily and mixed use buildings will continue to be essential, presenting an opportunity for owners and developers to incorporate beautiful and functional outdoor amenities and other desirable attributes into their properties to bring in buyers, renters, and leasers.

With space at a premium, every square foot must ideally be programmable, visual, and environmental, in addition to supporting infrastructure. Consequently, the bar is even higher to deliver innovative design solutions and a systems approach integrating landscape and engineering, says Sorge.

He also emphasizes the importance of considering multiple generations and diversification in landscape designs, along with meeting the recreation and social needs of a broad population of users with varied interests. Furthermore, patrons are seeking entertainment and shopping under one roof, with highly functional landscapes, resort-like features, and attention to detail.

Sorge also anticipates that the need for environmentally friendly spaces will increase, putting a premium on low-carbon designs, reduced runoff, enhanced stormwater quality, and decreased heat island impacts, not to mention increased resiliency with a focus on weather-related preparedness and post-event recovery.

“A greater focus on CO₂ neutrality will drive industries to take responsibility for our carbon footprint, and this will greatly influence how and what we specify,” he adds.

In developers’ quest to utilize every inch of space, this will continue to drive the development of roof decks.

“If a building’s roof is just holding mechanical equipment, that space is essentially wasted,” emphasizes John Cetra, FAIA, CetraRuddy, New York. “By creatively landscaping roof space, architects can take advantage of the opportunity to deliver an amenity that gets residents access to more daylight and vitamin D, brings them closer to nature and outdoor air, and leads to so many other positive physical, psychological, and general wellness benefits, not to mention the aesthetic benefit of a beautiful landscape design.”

The notion of developers engaging retail and even municipalities to attract patrons is also expected to gain traction.

“I believe that we will see more collaboration between adjacent development projects, which allows residents to share amenities,” Adams says. “Just as multiple restaurants in a location build upon each other to attract diners, I believe that multifamily projects will begin to collaborate to provide tenants a network of open space and even begin to collaborate with municipalities to ensure the true public realm in our public parks, plazas, and streets contributes and collaborates with the open spaces provided in individual projects.”

For such initiatives, developers may even be able to tap into tax incentives since these kinds of spaces can also be used by the public.

Final Projections

Despite rising inflation and economic uncertainty, according to FreddieMac Multifamily's "2022 Multifamily Midyear Outlook", the multifamily market is on track for solid performance for the rest of 2022 and into 2023. ¹¹

Ultimately, Draughon anticipates that amenity spaces will become an even truer extension of the home and not treated as an afterthought. “We are already starting to see homeowners treat the outdoor living space with the same attention as finished basements and kitchens,” he says.

Consequently, to support developers and designers in their quest to deliver these high-quality spaces, they will need to be able to draw from a large palette of landscaping products and systems. This will make environmentally friendly products with durability, longevity, easy of maintenance, textures, sizes, and colors even more in demand.