Shepley Bulfinch, a national architectural firm, has completed a new luxury student residence building in Tempe for Chicago-based CA Ventures and its student housing investment and development division, CA Student Living. RISE on Apache is a 15-story, 640,000 square-feet mixed-use student housing complex, located on the corner of Apache Boulevard and Rural Road, across the street from ASU.
Opening in September for the 2017 academic year, RISE on Apache offers an amenity-rich, off-campus housing experience for 833 ASU students. The complex features a rooftop deck with a swimming pool, a 10th-floor sports deck with grills, fire pits and games; and the fifth floor features a theater room and outdoor study area.
Apartments at RISE on Apache include a mix of studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and four-bedroom floor plans, ranging in size from 322 to 1,359 square-feet and offering a private bathroom for every bedroom. Each apartment features designer furniture, wood-grain flooring, modern kitchens with stainless steel appliances and granite countertops, flat screen televisions, and in-unit laundry.
The general contractor was Beal Derkenne, a firm based in Des Moines, Iowa and founded by Andrew Beal and Michael Derkenne in 2010. The company previously built The Hub, a 19-story student housing building across from ASU in 2013.
Siting the large building, one of the tallest in Tempe, within the small property footprint and to scaling its size to neighboring buildings was a design challenge. RISE on Apache was built on a vacant lot next to another student-housing complex, 922 Place. An office building occupied the site since the 1960s, but was demolished several years ago after a fire.
Stepped-back massing achieves this by making ten floors visible from the street and increasing five additional floors of the building beyond street view. Concrete floor plates extend out past the building envelope to shade the building's south-facing facade from solar heat. Concrete and exposed ceilings carry through the entry to create an urban feel.
The exterior of the distinctive building features rust-hued metal panels interspersed in vertical stripes against light-finished concrete panels, creating a balanced and modern look. Along with 384 residential units, the building has three ground-floor retail spaces to engage the street and a four-story parking structure and surface lot with a total of 414 parking spots.
“Shepley Bulfinch’s design for RISE on Apache creates an impeccable living-learning environment that supports productivity, promotes health and well-being, and fosters community connectivity in an enjoyable atmosphere,” says J.J. Smith, president, CA Student Living.