THE CLERMONT

Client: Local Development Partners    -    General Contractor: White Label
Location: 2222 Fulton Road, Cleveland, Ohio
Size:  8,520 SF - Twelve Apartment Flats Ranging from 550-650 SF
Status: Completed, 2023
Photography: Vince Michaels

The first in a series of projects investigating the 3-story walkup, single egress stair apartment typology, The Clermont combines context driven massing and detailing with maximum leasable square footage efficiency to offer much needed middle-market rental units on the city's near west side. The parcel is situated midblock and surrounded by single family homes and smaller multi-family structures that sit on narrow urban lots with varying setbacks along Fulton Road. To reflect the undulating urban fabric the building is organized as four individual gabled elements of differing widths, staggered in the east/west direction, and clustered as a singular mass. From points north and south along the street the structure reads as two or three independent homes with the multi-colored palette provides further differentiation. When observed as a singular object the horizontal lapped cladding starts with a narrow exposure at ground level, and doubles in dimension above, while the sawtooth roofline produces a condensed geometry of the neighborhood.

The overall floor plan, unit layouts, and vertical egress to the upper levels is a product of a rigorous study in maximizing rentable space and minimizing non-rent producing common space. The units themselves span the entire east/west dimension of the building, with spaces requiring natural light, fresh air, and fire department access at either end. A single run stair also extends from the rear of the building to the front, providing unit entries at each floor and leasable space above it as it ascends. These attributes together create a 94% efficient ratio for the gross vs. leasable square footage, allowing the building owner to keep rents lower than comparable apartments in this growing area of the city.