Creative Design Solutions to Support the Expansion of a Growing Retirement Community
The Dunwoody Village retirement community boasts 85 acres of picturesque, wooded views, all an easy walk from local shops and restaurants – just some of the many reasons why the community is an exceptional place to live.
The community has experienced significant growth over the years, requiring it to add additional residences to its campus to keep up with demand. Dunwoody Village embarked on a project to add 40 new twin-style homes on 14 acres of land within its existing campus.
Ensuring Completion of a Stalled Project with an Aggressive Schedule
RGS was engaged to advance the existing project that was stalled in agency reviews. Our primary objective was to get the project approved to commence construction.
The site, an infill area between the existing campus development and an adjoining school property, presented unique challenges. The client required that the buildings and infrastructure situate on a narrow, steep section of real estate.
RGS worked closely with the leadership team at Dunwoody to ensure their program needs were met. This included consistent, collaborative dialogue with the architect and contractor to maintain the aggressive schedule.
Leading the Way to Secure Development, Permit, and Preservation Approvals
RGS took a lead role in negotiating approvals with the local municipality, utility authority, and conservation district to obtain NPDES permitting. This included navigating State and Federal agency approvals for environmental features such as wetlands and clearances for bog turtles. We also assisted the client with project closeout services related to financial escrow reductions and post-construction services.
This project resides in a collar county outside of Philadelphia where sewer approvals require coordination with several downstream authorities before reaching the City. Additionally, there are complex development ordinances focusing on the preservation and protection of slopes, historical and environmental features. RGS was able to quickly integrate into the project team, build relationships with reviewing agencies and obtain development approvals.
Our team successfully navigated several moving parts to bring a stalled project to completion. The RGS team accomplished this while also fulfilling the intention of its design; the new units are a natural and purposeful extension of the existing community, yet have a distinctive neighborhood feel for residents.
