Martin Flats

HASTINGS Architecture, LLC

In 2019 the Tennessee Housing Development Agency reported that over 45% of Nashville renters are housing cost-burdened: spending more than 30% of their income on housing-related expenses. With rents rising 15% in the past year alone and a projected 50,000-unit deficit by the year 2030, the city’s housing crisis shows no signs of slowing. Partners Eagle Rock Ventures and The Mathews Company’s response was to bring a new kind of living option to Nashville.
Martin Flats provides 150 affordable housing units in the burgeoning neighborhood of Wedgewood Houston. The developers/ long-term building owners were able to achieve their affordability goal with 100% private funding by using a micro congregate housing model. Compact 190-square-foot sleeping suites shared kitchen and living spaces, and mindful design created a hyper-efficient and economical project. These affordable rents for Nashvillians that fall under 80% of the Area Median Income are inclusive of utilities, internet and furnishings. The distinctive model allows the young professionals, artists, musicians, and teachers of Nashville to live comfortably in a high-demand central urban neighborhood.
As a housing typology new to Nashville, the design celebrates the congregate housing model’s inherent sense of community. This is seen in the variety of indoor and outdoor gathering spaces, as well as the artistic exterior expression in the facade. Like the individual residents who weave together to create the larger community, the facade is comprised of rotating white corrugated metal panels and staggered window openings, creating the appearance of a woven tapestry pattern.
Multiple ground floor live-work units, each with direct access to Humphreys Street, spur pedestrian interaction and street activation. Retail space at the corner of Humphreys Street and Martin Street invites the public in and provides another gathering place for residents.