District Flats Wins DBIA-MAR Honor Award

More about this project
10/27/2016

​We’re proud to announce that District Flats won a Design-Build Institute of America Mid-America Region (DBIA-MAR) Honor Award in the “commercial-multifamily” category.

The annual DBIA-MAR Design-Build Awards recognize the “best of the best” projects in the region that demonstrate successful application of design-build principles and best practices. Evaluation criteria include successfully achieving owner/user project goals, innovative use of new systems, methods and processes, as well as aesthetics, design quality, functionality and life-cycle.

Located near the University of Missouri in Columbia, Mo., District Flats, a luxury student housing complex, exemplifies our experience and capabilities in the areas of skilled design-build collaboration, integrated style and function, innovative building practices and accelerated timelines for design and construction.

District Flats satisfied an unmet need for Class A luxury student housing within walking distance of the University of Missouri campus. And, like most student housing projects, completion needed to coincide with the start of the academic year. In late 2014 the completion date was set for the start of the 2015 – 2016 academic year. This meant our design-build team needed to deliver a high-quality product within a very aggressive 10-month construction schedule. The team mobilized and successfully completed the project on time and within budget. This was achieved by very carefully phasing construction, and utilizing innovative systems and components like precast concrete and panelized wood framing systems.

Just steps away from the campus and downtown Columbia, the 119-unit building exemplifies “best in class” luxury student housing, featuring many amenities desired by today’s discerning students. There are private and group study areas, a cyber café and computer lounge, a fitness center, a movie theatre, a game room and club room, an outdoor terrace with fire pits and secure underground parking and bike storage.

From an architectural standpoint, District Flats not only complements, but enhances the architecture of the surrounding neighborhood. Respecting the area’s historical brick and mortar architecture, our architects incorporated traditional brick in the design, augmenting it with stucco and glass for a fresh, new contemporary interpretation.

“We are honored to have received this award for our work on District Flats,” said Oscar Healy, regional vice president of Opus Design Build, L.L.C. “The project represents our ability to apply our substantial design-build experience, as well as our deep residential development expertise, to state-of-the-art student housing projects.”

Congrats to the entire project team that made District Flats and this award possible!