Why Do So Many New Apartment Houses Look Alike?

You’ve seen them because you can’t miss them – those boxy, modern, mid-rise, apartment houses with their flat windows and synthetic facades, on top of retail, commercial and garage spaces. Some are gray and black while others are brightly colored. They’re not only rising all over Jersey City, but across the country as well. And people are noticing. One clever online observer posted pictures of these buildings and facetiously asked: ’Do you have a term for the new generation of generic urban apartment buildings?”

Some have criticized them for their bland, uniform look, the lack of any interesting architectural features and for undermining the unique character of urban neighborhoods. One report in the NYTimes noted: “It’s anytown architecture, and it’s hard to know where you are from one city to the next,” They’ve also been called, “gentrification buildings” – symbols of the rising cost of housing as well as displacement. They also have their supporters who defend them as part of the solution to the housing shortage.

Justin Fox, a columnist for Bloomberg, was one of the first to comment on the growth of these mid-rise buildings declaring them, “one of the most dramatic changes to the country’s built environment in decades.” According to Fox, changes in the Universal Building Code – the housing construction code most cities and states follow -are largely responsible for the growth of the new mid-rise apartment houses. The key change was that wood-framed buildings could be built higher if the wood was treated making it fire resistant which would qualify it as noncombustible material. Before this, apartment buildings with wood-framing were limited to 4 stories – if they had sprinkler systems and firewalls. With this change, developers could build higher increasing the number of housing units and their profits.

The change in the building code in the mid 1990’s was the catalyst behind the growth of the mid-rise apartment houses known as “5 over 1s” – building code lingo for apartment houses that typically have five floors of apartments sitting on a concrete base of retail, commercial or garage space. However, in practice, these buildings can range from 3-7 stories.

According to Fox, most builders say that wood-framed buildings are cheaper to construct than those using steel and concrete. Wood is cheaper and easier to work with than steel or concrete.  It allows builders to hire less skilled, non-union workers, saving costs. However, as Fox notes, the construction industry has sponsored its own studies that claim there is no difference in building costs whether using wood, concrete or steel.

Cost savings are also provided by the use of other materials. Prefabricated flat windows are cheaper and easier to install as well as the prefabricated panels that make up the skin of the building.

The cheaper materials used in the 5 over 1 mid-rises can also be seen in mixed income housing developments such as Mill Creek Gardens, a mixed income development. formerly known as Montgomery Gardens now called,

Zoning regulations also provide cost savings for builders. Unlike many high-rises, mid-rises can utilize all of the space of the property for the building. Building from one end of the property to the other, allows developers to include more housing units and the potential for more profit. Filling up the property this way also accounts for the blocky, rectangular shape and 90 degree angles that typify these buildings. 

The lightweight wood frame construction of the 5 over 1s has posed safety concerns around the country because of several fires associated with them. In New Jersey, the first, occurred in 2015 in Edgewater displacing 1,000 residents and destroying 240 of the development’s 408 units. And, despite several more fires at these buildings in the state, little has been done in terms of legislation to improve safety. Several proposals have been put forward but none have become law. The most recent proposal introduced in 2022, is still pending a vote. Proponents of more regulation are opposed by those who say it will slow down the production of housing making it more costly.

The 5 over 1’s appear to be serving a niche market for lower-end luxury housing. Many of those who prefer urban living cannot afford much of the luxury housing available. Developers, recognizing this, have stepped in to provide a less costly version of higher-end housing.

In filling the need for cheaper luxury housing are these mid-rises helping to solve the affordable housing crisis or making it worse? Some argue they are part of the solution to the housing crisis. because those moving into luxury housing are leaving behind more affordable housing for others to move into. According to this view, increasing the supply of luxury housing will eventually create a surplus of this kind of housing making landlords more likely to lower rents on these units or create more affordable housing. However, this supply and demand theory does not appear to have worked in Jersey City. Most of the new housing built in Jersey City over four decades has been luxury housing. The huge increase in this kind of housing has done little to increase the supply of housing affordable for working and middle class residents.

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• Gentrification Math & the False Promise of Affordable Housing
• Why is the City Selling Public Property to Luxury Housing Developers?
• Why So Much Luxury Housing in a City Where Most Can’t Afford It?
• Why Do So Many New Apartment Houses Look Alike?
• Signs of Gentrification: House Numbers, Their Color and Design

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