"5-over-1 or over-1s, also known as a one-plus-five or a podium building,[1] is a type of multi-family residential building commonly found in urban areas of North America", so either you're wrong about them wanting to build a 5 over 1 or wrong about them being multi-family.
Then maybe I used to wrong term. It was a building full of singles, built to look almost exactly like the classic 5-over-1.