Multifamily Rental: Big House, Big Impact in Texas

Anyone can just put buildings on a site. We like to try to create a true neighborhood feel with every site plan and project we design.” That’s Michael Smith, studio director for Humphreys & Partners Architects, in Dallas, talking about Hermosa Village, a 238-unit apartment community in Leander, Texas, near Austin, that breaks the mold of high-density multifamily rental design and amenities.

Location: Hermosa Village, Leander, Texas
Acres: 19.29
Units: 238 one-level flats (22 buildings)
Density: 12.12 DU/AC
Unit size (range): 684 – 1,450 sf (one to three bedrooms)
Rent: From $1,000 per month
Architect: Humphreys & Partners Architects, Dallas
Builder: Cadence McShane Construction, Addison, Texas
Developer: IMPACT Developers, Austin, Texas
Interior design: Leslie Fossler Interiors, Austin
Landscape architect: PLACE designers, Portland, Ore.
Photos: courtesy IMPACT Developers

Defying Density With Apartments That Look More Like Townhomes

The firms’ Big House approach—a moniker it trademarked—is unique in making the 10 to 14 stacked flats per building look more like attached townhomes or even a single-family home, with individual entries into the ground-floor units. “For the density the developer wanted, [this design approach] made sense right off the bat,” Smith says.

Along the back of the Big House buildings, two housing types feature single-car garages with direct access to their living units, while the third type omits the garage, making space for an additional four units per building. Just five of the 22 buildings on the 19.29-acre site are of the latter type. The apartments themselves average almost 1,000 square feet, the largest being 1,450 square feet on one level—footprints that exceed the local norm.

That aspect, combined with the exterior’s Big House aesthetic, “makes the units feel like you’re living in a smaller home versus an apartment,” Smith says—a key element that has attracted move-down empty nesters to the multifamily development since the project opened in September 2020.

Hermosa Village multifamily rental buildings use a Big House concept in modern farmhouse style — Humphreys & Partners Architects has applied the Big House concept in various styles across 300 multifamily communities in 40 states, though Hermosa Village is the first project to feature a Modern Farmhouse aesthetic. “We started working on this community back in 2016, before this look became all the rage,” Smith says. “The concept perfectly suited the look, feel, density, and the number of garages the developer wanted to offer.”

Hermosa Village multifamily rental development kitchen interior — With high ceilings and an average of about 1,000 square feet of living space, the stacked flats at Hermosa Village live larger than competitive product. “We don’t design things that are just going to cost money without any return,” designer Michael Smith says. “It has to actually add value for the occupants and the community.”

Hermosa Village multifamily rental development garage access — Most units have direct-access garages along the back of their Big House. Private, covered entries along all rear elevations open to staircases that lead to the second-floor flats.

Hermosa Village multifamily rental development floor plans — Hermosa Village features three types of two-story Big House buildings with roughly the same footprint (above). Types I and II offer ground-level, direct-access garages serving 10 stacked-flat units, while Type III eschews garages so the design can accommodate 14 stacked-flat units. “Not every unit has a direct-access garage, but a lot of them do, and that’s a huge selling point,” Smith says. “If we ever do a phase two or a second project for the same developer, almost without fail they’ll either add more garages or go to 100% garage buildings because they tend to pay for themselves.”

Outstanding Amenities for Multifamily Rental

The other attraction is Hermosa Village’s amenities package. There’s the requisite pool, of course, but surrounding it is a plethora of activities rarely offered in rental communities: a community garden; a cornhole court, ping-pong table, and a human-scale chess set; an outdoor kitchen and dining areas; and an extensive clubhouse featuring both communal and more personal gathering areas, some of which open to common green spaces. “It was a fun project to work on,” Smith says. “We think it turned out pretty well.”