5	Back of the Hill- A grand transformation

4	A new home for Hope House

3	Waverley Woods, Award Winner

2	Development of an Urban Village- The Saint Polycarp Village story

1	TILL wins 2009 J. Timothy Anderson Award

Boston, MA, November 3, 2009— The National Housing & Rehabilitation Association (NH&RA) recently presented its 2009 J. Timothy Anderson Awards for Excellence in Historic Rehabilitation to ten outstanding historic rehabilitation projects throughout the United States. The Toward Independent Living & Learning (TILL) Building in Chelsea, MA was awarded first place in the Best Historic Rehabilitation Project Utilizing Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, Large category. The “Timmy Awards” were created to honor outstanding real estate projects that involve rehabilitation of old, historic buildings using the federal historic rehabilitation tax credit. The TILL Building in Chelsea is a successful model of a cooperative design and development process. The historic adaptive reuse transformed an abandoned furniture warehouse, built shortly after the Chelsea Fire of 1908, into an attractive integration of residential, community and retail space. The space includes 23-units of much needed affordable housing, two of which are fully handicapped accessible, a catering service, a storefront café and a fitness and rehabilitation center. Scoring for the “Timmy Awards” was based on design, quality, interpretation and respect of historic elements, innovative approach to construction and use of building materials, financial and market success, and impact on the community. The TILL building represents not only a successful collaboration of the design and development team and the neighborhood, but also a successful restoration to usefulness of a former commercial building which had long outlived its usefulness. - - Click here to see photos of TILL.

Somerville, MA, October, 2009- To the development team, the decommissioned Saint Polycarp Church site in Somerville, MA represented a great opportunity- 3.5 acres of development potential in a dense city- with some distinct environmental challenges. The team’s vision was to create a green, mixed-use development that would serve the people of Somerville. The newly built Saint Polycarp Village Apartments, a mixed-use building that adds a welcoming presence along the stark and elevated highway at the northern edge of Somerville, is the first addition to the site. The apartment building offers 24 affordable apartments, 3 ground-level retail spaces, and public landscaped outdoor space. Residents will benefit from extremely efficient systems, balcony views of downtown Boston and surrounding neighborhoods, and spacious and open floor plans. The mixed-residential and retail building stretches parallel to the highway, and shelters the landscaped courtyard from the traffic and noise. Two historical stone buildings- the Saint Polycarp Church and Rectory- continue to occupy this now more peaceful campus setting; both have been re-occupied by local institutions for new uses. The combination of cherished historical stone edifices and the cutting-edge, sustainable building is just the beginning of the phased development for the rest of the site. Butler Way will be transformed into a friendly pedestrian promenade that will connect the Winter Hill neighborhood with the historical church campus, four new public green spaces, 84 new energy-efficient homes, and a local convenience store. The result will be a vibrant mix of old and new, and a series of homes and green open spaces on the edge of the City. The project is currently pursuing LEED Silver certification, an accomplishment that would verify the high level of sustainability targeted by the building developer, builder, and architect. Results from energy modeling, coupled with testing of the completed building, show that the building will use less than half the energy of other new construction. Few affordable housing developments have achieved this level of sustainability and resident amenity.

On Thursday, June 4, Affirmative Investments hosted the grand opening of the Waverley Woods Apartments on Trapelo Road in Belmont, MA. Waverley Woods includes 40 units of newly constructed affordable rental housing units within six 2.5 story structures, on-site tot lot, management office, and parking. All of the homes are Low-Income Housing Tax Credit units. SPECIAL CONSTRAINTS. The Town of Belmont is a wealthy primarily residential suburb that is known for its mansion-filled Belmont Hill neighborhood. Only 3.2% of the town’s 9,900 homes are considered “affordable” by the Department of Housing & Community Development. To address this deficit, in 1999, Belmont adopted a zoning by-law and a Memorandum of Agreement for the redevelopment of the massive McLean Hospital site. A tiny corner of the site was set aside for the construction of affordable housing. SITE DESCRIPTION. The 1.34 acre property was notable for its “undevelopable” qualities: severe slope (36’ of grade change from front to back), ledge outcroppings, scraggly tree growth, and at-grade exposure to heavy traffic on one edge. On the other hand, the site is in close proximity to Waverley Square- a multi-modal transportation node, and other commercial and open-space amenities. DESIGN SOLUTION. In order to address the slope of the site and to distance the housing from the traffic in an aesthetically satisfying manner, the site was shaped to create terraces of housing that reflect the natural slope and blend the buildings into the landscape. From the central parking court, the lower buildings appear to only be 1-1/2 stories tall, as the first floor is built down onto the first terrace. A series of bridges connect the parking court to the middle level of the lower line of buildings. Full-site accessibility is achieved through gently sloped walkways joined by a lift that connects the parking court to the lower terrace. A new stone-faced, multi-layered, landscaped retaining wall system provides an attractive “gateway” into Belmont. The wall is set back to provide space for a wide sidewalk, as well as a planting strip for street trees. Planning for Waverley woods started with an open green charrette at Town Hall where the community joined with the development team and Belmont’s “green” organization, Sustainable Belmont, to brainstorm strategies to make the development as green as possible. In the end, the project exceeds DHCD’s requirements for sustainable housing, and all units meet the Energy Star for Homes standards. Waverley Woods has already received four awards including the 2009 Charles L. Edson Tax Credit Excellence Award for Green Housing (Honorable Mention) from the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition, and the John M. Clancy Award for Socially Responsible Housing from the Boston Society of Architects/AIA.

Boston, MA, May 2009-- On Wednesday, May 6 the new Hope House Residential Treatment Center celebrated its official opening with a ribbon cutting ceremony hosted by Mayor Thomas Menino. The 35,000 sf Center consolidates all of Hope House’s programming and operations under one roof, allowing one of Boston’s oldest substance abuse treatment centers for men to serve more clients and to deliver services more efficiently. Located at the corner of Hampden and Farnham Street, the Center is the uniting of two entities, the 80-bed Recovery Home, and 22 units of affordable housing for the homeless graduates of the program. Though under one roof, each has its own separate and distinct entrances. The Recovery Home, in a newly constructed metal-paneled building, includes shared bedrooms, dorms, laundry rooms, commercial kitchen, multi-use dining room, computer labs, and meeting and counseling spaces. The Graduate Home, in a rehabilitated existing brick building, provides much-needed continued support to graduates of the Hope House program and includes residential units with kitchenettes and common bathrooms. The newly constructed building’s sleek, multi-color metal panel façade maintains an industrial look that fits with the building’s surrounding industrial district. Contrastingly, the sun-light filled bedrooms, with views of Boston’s skyline, and playful flooring patterns give the interiors a warm residential feel. Hope House was built to a LEED certifiable standard and is equipped with a geothermal heat pump system, rooftop photovoltaic array, daylighting sensors, gearless traction elevator, and a white roof to reduce the urban “heat island” effect. The new space allows Hope House to continue to expand the capacity of their services and programs, as well as gives their clients access to more opportunities, such as increased computer access.

Though the Back of the Hill Apartments was an exterior cladding renovation project, the design intent was far from superficial. The existing EIFS exterior was failing, soaked with water, delaminating from the building and an eyesore. Removal of the existing EIFS revealed years of water infiltration, rendering completely ineffective insulation, deterioration of interior finishes and structural components, and unsafe interior air quality for the residents. The replacement of the exteriors with the new vented rainscreen metal panels was critical to the continued occupancy of this eleven-story, 125 unit, mixed-use affordable elderly housing development. The vented rainscreen metal panel system served the design intent in several ways, including improving the indoor air quality, aesthetics, and long-term durability. Water is finally kept out of the building, allowing the insulation and interior structure to dry thoroughly, and restoring the indoor air quality. New ventilation and windows will also allow the building to be maintained as a healthy indoor environment for this sensitive population. The sleek lines of metal panels allow for a fresh new look. Panel colors were selected to add interest and brightness to the building; and the facades were organized with a rational set of panel shapes, alignment and proportions. The arrangement of the metal panel joints, shapes, sizes and colors, helps to redefine a once large and confusing building mass. The metal panels are far more durable than the previous EIFS cladding and thus will benefit the building for many years to come. They offer great protection to the underlying building structure and finishes and are also relatively maintenance free. This complete transformation of the exterior will help to enhance the quality of life for the residents and help them to remain safely and successfully in their homes.