More than accessible: a disabled suburban Chicago developer went above and beyond code in creating a barrier-free apartment community that suits renters with disabilities and without, integrating affordable and market-rate units.

AS former Owner, Developer and General Contractor of the Maple Court Apartments, my goal and vision was to integrate barrier-free design housing--housing that went beyond the minimum fair housing requirements for assisting persons with disabilities--with adaptable units that met the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) accessibility requirements.

The result was the successful development of a 48-unit community on a 4-acre site in Naperville, Ill. Maple Court Development consists of 20 barrier-free affordable units integrated with 28 market-rate adaptable units.

Maple Court's success was achieved by creating a community for people with disabilities to reside alongside people without disabilities and its integration of affordable units with market-rate units.

Creating an Accessible Community

In October 1993, the development of Maple Court was initiated. This included land acquisition, planning, architectural design, engineering, permitting process and financing. Construction on Maple Court began in September 1995.

When occupancy permits were issued on July 5, 1996, the building was 70 percent leased; within 30 days, it was 100 percent leased by persons with and without disabilities. The community has remained fully occupied, indicating a strong desire among residents for this type of housing.

In 1997, Maple Court Apartments was the only community of the 49 tested in metropolitan Chicago that complied with the FHA new construction accessibility requirement.

Community Features

The site design for barrier-free housing must be considered in the early stages of planning. This includes selecting a user friendly site with nearby amenities.

Grading and Sidewalks. The site grading for barrier-free design should be 1 percent or less with minimum slopes. Sidewalks should be 6 feet wide to allow two wheelchairs to pass with ease and safety. The grading of black dirt and grass should be level with those sidewalks, providing additional safety.

At Maple Court, sidewalk cambering, or tilting, was minimized to prevent a manual wheelchair user from veering off the sidewalk. With this, the Maple Court development team was still able to provide sufficient water runoff during inclement weather.

Driveways and Parking. The circular driveway entrance at Maple Court does not have curbing, allowing persons with disabilities to egress at multiple points from their vehicles for drop off of pick up. Without vehicles always blocking the few curb cuts, persons with disabilities have greater mobility to enter their residence.

Parking stalls at Maple Court are at a flat grade with the absolute minimum amount of pitch necessary for water runoff. This is critical for individuals who use a wheelchair to transfer safely from vehicles into wheelchairs.

Entrances. The main entrance to the apartment building is equipped with power doors. Though power doors are not mandated under the FHA accessibility requirements, the device enables access for persons with more severe disabilities. To enable persons with disabilities to push the plate to open the door with adequate clearance of the wheelchair, the push plate or pedestal should be located a minimum of 8 feet from the door.

At Maple Court, the main entrance grade level was kept at a minimum to allow persons using wheelchairs of any other assistance device to enter safely and easily. The entry doors are a minimum of 3 feet wide, providing easy access. Upon entry, the intercom system and security entry access points are accessibly located in a large foyer area allowing maximum use. Large foyer areas are always necessary to provide access and usability by persons with disabilities. Auxiliary entrances were also made accessible with power doors for persons with disabilities not to be restricted to a single entrance.

Mailboxes. The accessible mailbox area includes a large shelf to allow persons with disabilities to wheel up and use the mailbox center with increased access and ease. People without disabilities readily use the power doors and the mailbox center when they are carrying groceries.

Common Areas. The common areas include spacious lobbies and lounge areas for maneuverability and two elevators with lowered horizontal controls. The party room includes tables and chairs that are easily accessible for persons with or without disabilities and has an accessible counter to obtain food and other items with ease when the room is rented. The hallways area minimum of 6 feet wide and include accessible levels for fire extinguishers and fire alarm pulls. Emergency refuge areas are established at various areas throughout the building.

Inside the Units

The barrier-free units at Maple Court are 735 square feet for a one-bedroom unit; 842 square feet for two-bedroom, one-bath; and 956 square feet for two-bedroom two-bath apartments.

The adaptable units at Maple Court, primarily for persons without disabilities, boast the same square footage and open space design as the barrier-free units, but have cabinets that are adaptable heights and slide-in ranges with working dials in front. Light switches are at 42 inches on center (from the floor to the center of the wallplate) and outlets are at 18 inches on center. All apartment doors feature lever handles, regardless of whether the apartment is barrier-free of adaptable.

Kitchens. Barrier-free kitchens include lowered cabinets and accessible pantry storage. The kitchens have wall ovens and accessible cooktops. The accessible cooktops come with dials that are reachable, switches for the hood light and fan located at the front skirt board, and an open space underneath the cooktop for wheelchair access.

The barrier-free units include accessible sink and counter space, allowing for the independence of food preparation. Additional light switches and outlets are at the front skirt board. The kitchen/dining table is centrally located and allows for a 3-foot clearance on each side of the table accessing the kitchen.

In the past, many people with disabilities were forced to squeeze into the kitchen and were restricted to one end of the table. These limitations were eliminated at Maple Court.

Bathrooms. The barrier-free units at Maple Court include accessible bathrooms with non-skid floors for safe transferring, non-skid grab bars, raised toilet seats, roll-in showers and flexible handheld shower nozzles. The sink area allows a person with disabilities to wheel under with ease and to use the faucet and the accessible medicine cabinet. The bathroom walls include additional backing to facilitate grab bars in specific locations as desired by residents.

Switches and Climate Control. The light switches in Maple Court are lowered to 36 inches on center and the outlets are raised to 22 inches on center throughout the barrier-free units. In addition, the fuse box and environmental controls, such as thermostats for heating and air conditioning, are also lowered. In a standard apartment, thermostats often are too high for persons using wheelchairs to access with ease. This challenge also has been eliminated at Maple Court.

Closets. All units at Maple Court have large roll-in closets, as all residents desire large closets. The closets in the master bedrooms are large enough to allow a person using a wheelchair to maneuver inside with ease.

Windows and Balconies. Each unit has sliding windows. Patio doors are 6 feet wide to allow access to the balconies. The balconies are adjusted to provide a smooth transition from the unit to the balcony--a critical consideration during the construction phase.

Raising Awareness 

The need for accessible housing will continue to increase as the population of individuals with disabilities increases due to accidents or other health-related reasons. Apartment developers must undertake a combined effort to increase the accessible housing stock in this country. People are being locked in their apartments and homes or being forced into nursing homes in the meantime, which is not the answer.

On Nov. 20, 2003, I sold Maple Court Apartments and retired, concluding lengthy hours and a major time commitment, which included four flat tires on my electric wheelchair during construction.

My voluntary commitment continued with several presentations and numerous training sessions on accessible housing. During this time, I served as Chairperson of the City of Naperville Housing Commission for six years. I currently serve on the executive committee of the governor's Illinois Housing Taskforce. In addition, I have personally continued additional efforts to establish local ordinances and state initiatives to improve accessible housing for persons with disabilities. (See "Advocating for accessibility".)

In the recent past, I was requested to testify before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee on the FHA accessibility requirements. In my closing statement, I said, "Developers and builders are in business and need to make a profit; however, not at the expense of an entire population."

RELATED ARTICLE: Advocating for accessibility.

As a retired developer, advocate, person with a disability and citizen of the state, I have been fortunate to be a part of the legislative process during the 2005 legislative session in Springfield, Ill. The 2005 session saw the unanimous passage of H.B. 55, on which I testified in the Illinois House and Senate, sponsored by Rep. Joe Dunn (R-Ill.-96th). Sen. Kirk Dillard carried the bill in the Senate. I commend Dunn and Dillard for their work on the bill, which places the federal Fair Housing Act's (FHA) accessibility requirements into state law.

The final language of H.B. 55, "PL 94-083," which amends the Environmental Barriers Act, follows:

"(a-1) Accessibility of structures; new construction. New housing subject to regulation under this Act shall be constructed in compliance with all applicable regulations and, in the case where the new housing and the new housing not defined as multi-story for the purposes of this Act is a building in which 4 or more dwelling units or sleeping units intended to be occupied as a residence are contained within a single structure, with the technical requirements of the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Fair Housing Accessibility Guidelines published March 6, 1991, and the Supplement to Notice of Fair Housing Accessibility Guidelines: Questions and Answers about the Guidelines, published June 28, 1994."

In May 2005, I was invited by the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights division to be a guest speaker at their Multi-Family Access Forum. During this forum, I presented several barrier-free design features and discussed the importance of placing the federal FHA requirements into local ordinances and state accessibility codes.

The forum brought developers, builders, advocates and persons with disabilities together, providing outreach on the requirements that benefited all parties.

Technical assistance is available for implementing the FHA requirements. One key resource is Fair Housing Accessibility FIRST at 888/341-7781. --W.M.

RELATED ARTICLE: Know the 7 Fair Housing Accessibility requirements.

The federal Fair Housing Amendments Act (FHAA) went into effect in 1989, providing a much-needed minimum level of accessibility for multifamily housing nationwide. The Fair Housing Act (FHA) prohibits housing discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status or disability and set certain requirements for accessible design in new construction. The accessibility amendment applies to residential multifamily dwellings with four of more units--including condos, single-story townhouses, garden apartments, vacation timeshares, dormitories and homeless shelters--for first occupancy after March 13, 1991.

The law requires covered buildings with an elevator to make all units in buildings accessible and those without an elevator to make all ground-floor units--including ground floors at different levels in the same building--accessible.

The FHAA accessibility requirements for new construction are enforced after a complaint is filed, which is normally when new construction is completed. Enforcement can include tearing up completed work, heavy fines and retrofit funds being established. However, in states where the accessibility codes and local ordinances include the seven FHAA technical requirements, automatic enforcement is accomplished at the beginning of new construction, before companies must invest in costly, after-the-fact restitution.

For example, in 2000, Naperville, III., incorporated the FHAA's accessibility technical requirements into its local ordinance by unanimous vote of the Naperville City Council. As a result, Naperville has the ability to enforce the FHAA's accessibility requirements at the local level. This has assured proper compliance at the beginning of construction, during the permitting process.

The seven accessibility technical requirements for new construction of multifamily housing consist of: (1) an accessible entrance on an accessible route; (2) accessible public and common-use areas; (3) usable doors; (4) accessible routes into and through dwelling units; (5) accessible light switches, electrical outlets, thermostats and other environmental controls; (6) reinforced walls in bathrooms; and (7) usable kitchens and bathrooms.

1. ACCESSIBLE ENTRANCE ON AN ACCESSIBLE ROUTE

* If there are separate entrances for ground-floor units, each entrance must be accessible.

* If there are common entrances to a multi-unit building, at least one entrance, typically used by residents for entering the building, must be accessible.

* An accessible entrance must connect to the public right of way and be located on a route that a person in a wheelchair can easily travel, leading to and from meaningful locations: parking, public transportation, other buildings in the community, recreational facilities and amenities, such as laundry rooms.

2. ACCESSIBLE PUBLIC AND COMMON-USE AREAS

* The following areas must be accessible to people with disabilities: parking areas, curb ramps, passenger loading areas, building lobbies, lounges, halls and corridors, elevators, public-use restrooms and rental or sales offices.

* Drinking fountains and water coolers, mailboxes, laundry rooms, community and exercise rooms, swimming pools, playgrounds, recreation facilities and nature trails must also be accessible.

3. USABLE DOORS

* Doors must be wide enough to enable a person in a wheelchair to maneuver through easily.

* Public and common-use doors, doors leading into an individual dwelling unit and all doors within the dwelling unit itself must be accessible.

* For wheelchairs, doors must have a minimum clear opening width of 32 inches measured from face of door to the stop with the door open 90 degrees.

* Regulations apply to all types of doors, including hinged doors, sliding doors and folding doors.

* Regulations apply to doors leading to any outdoor amenities, such as a balcony, patio or deck. If a deck or patio has doorways leading into two or more separate rooms, all must be usable.

4. ACCESSIBLE ROUTES INTO AND THROUGH THE DWELLING UNIT

* Thresholds of a unit's exterior doors may not exceed 3/4 of an inch (This also applies to sliding door tracks.)

* In single-story units, changes in height of 114 to 1/2 inches must be beveled. Those greater than 1/2 inches must be ramped or have other means of access.

* The minimum clear width for an accessible route inside a unit is 36 inches.

* Hallways, passages and corridors must be wide enough to allow room to maneuver a wheelchair throughout the unit.

5. ACCESSIBLE LIGHT SWITCHES, ELECTRICAL OUTLETS AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROLS

* Operable parts of controls must be no lower than 15 inches and no higher than 48 inches.

* Switches, outlets, thermostats and controls must be accessible to people using wheelchairs.

6. REINFORCED WALLS IN BATHROOM Walls in bathrooms must be reinforced so grab bars near the toilet, tub, shower and shower seat (if provided) can be added.

7. USABLE KITCHENS AND BATHROOMS

* A minimum of 40 inches of clear floor space is required in kitchens to allow a person using a wheelchair to maneuver between opposing base cabinets, countertops, appliances or walls.

* A U-shaped design requires a minimum of 5 feet in diameter clear space of removable cabinets at the base of the "U."

* Appliances must be located so a person using a wheelchair can use them. Clear floor space of 30-by-48 inches is required for a parallel or forward approach.

* Adequate maneuvering space is required in bathrooms so a person using a wheelchair can easily enter, close the door, use the facilities and fixtures and exit.

* For bathrooms, an owner can follow Option A or B With Option A, all bathrooms must include a basic degree of maneuverability to meet Option A requirements.

* With Option B, only one bathroom must meet Option B requirements, which provide for a stricter degree of maneuverability. Other bathrooms require usable doors, reinforced walls and switches and outlets in accessible locations and must be on an accessible route.--W.M.

William J. Malleris is the former Owner, Developer and General Contractor of Maple Court Apartments in Naperville, Ill. For information, contact NAA Director of Communications Paul Bergeron at [e-mail]. Photos courtesy of William J. Malleris.