Separating Market-Rate Condos and Affordable Rentals

The Journal has an article about Columbia Commons, the mixed-income development on Warren and Hicks, that looks at how the 94 affordable rentals are kept distinct from the 42 market-rate condos: “The rental side, massive in scale and vaguely institutional-feeling, presents itself to the equally vast and noisy Brooklyn Queens Expressway, on which traffic roars below Hicks Street. The condo portion, however, is quieter and more dignified, from its stone cornices to the masonry frames around its windows and its darker, more conservative shade of red brick, which faces onto quaint, leafy Brooklyn side streets.” The condo lobby is also fancier than the affordable-rental lobby, according to the article, though renters and owners share some amenities, like the gym. It’s interesting to compare this design with another recent development, Atlantic Terrace in Fort Greene, where affordable and market-rate units are mixed throughout the building. Which do you think works better?
Mastering Mixed-Income Housing [WSJ]