McCrone Selected for Award-Winning Affordable Housing Project

West elevation view from new county road.

McCrone was selected to be on the design team for a project winner of the Fall 2011 Competitive Funding Round through the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development. The 72- unit garden apartment community known as New East Crossing located in North East, Maryland, was one of only three winners out of 29 applicants in the state of Maryland.

   The Ingerman Group, a national developer known for award-winning affordable housing projects in the Mid-Atlantic Region, submitted McCrone as the civil engineering team for this project because of their exceptional client service and design expertise on the Elkton Senior Apartments in 2010.

   The 11.2-acre residential development includes a community building and Boys and Girls Club that are strategically located overlooking a large community green where residents can observe recreational activities and the tot-lot. This common area acts as the central focus of the development and is wrapped by a tree-lined street that accesses the eight residential buildings.

East elevation facing the community green.

 An overall challenge of the site layout was to soften the project's visual impact.

The team designed a U-shaped, tree-lined street that would surround the community green and allow access to the garden apartments. The buildings and associated parking were designed to spur off the main street with the narrow end of each building facing the street. This layout met the goal of reducing the perceived density of the development as residents navigate through the neighborhood. 

   The site topography offered challenges in meeting the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements to provide pedestrian access throughout the community. Working with the architect, Haley Donovan, the McCrone team adjusted the site grading of the clubhouse area to accommodate the architect's vision for the building.

   McCrone also achieved the stormwater management requirements by maximizing overland flow and designing 8 bio-retention areas and a submerged wetland area at the development entrance. This effort significantly reduced the need for underground storm drainage systems, therefore reducing site construction costs.