TeamTimes | Issue 1 | 2013

ISSUE : 1

N E W S + U P D AT E S F R O M T H E A R C H I T E C T U R A L T E A M , I N C .

TEAMTIMES

DESIGN FOR SUCCESS

2013

History Preserved for Gateway City

Loft Five50, Lawrence, Mass. | Client: WinnDevelopment | Contractor: Keith Construction | Photo credit: Andy Ryan

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efore it was revitalized as a new mixed-income multifamily community, Loft Five50 was part of Malden Mills Industries—manufacturer of Polartec® fleece—in the Gateway City of Lawrence.

Seventeen years after suffering from one of the worst fires in Massachusetts’ history, The Architectural Team completed the historic adaptive reuse of the now infamous mill for long-time client, WinnDevelopment. The rehabilitation efforts have restored both history and homes for Lawrence, and moreover have contributed to the revitalization of the community.

“Experienced developers like Winn recognized the viability of Malden Mills as a new multifamily residential community. They also know firsthand the enormous benefits that historic preservation and low-income housing tax credits provide in saving the region’s architectural heritage and generating new private investment in the city of Lawrence,” said Michael D. Binette, AIA, NCARB, principal, TAT. “The team’s committed rehabilitation efforts saved the mill from further decline and as a result it also increased local tax revenues, attracted more residents and visitors to the area, and provided much needed quality workforce housing.”

Loft Five50 offers 75 units of mixed-income housing with resident amenities to include a billiard room/lounge with catering kitchen, media room, fitness center with yoga room, children’s indoor playroom, outdoor patio areas, onsite management office, and surface parking. TAT and Winn are currently designing phase two, which will convert five adjacent mill buildings to provide an additional 62 units of mixed-income housing.

To date, the firm has completed more than 150 historic adaptive reuse developments, many with Winn, and other long-time clients. Notable projects include the award-winning phase one of the Apartment at Boott Mills in Lowell, MA. Phase two, currently under construction, is designed as a new mixed-use/ residential component of the extensive historic Mill campus. Visit our website to view images of Loft Five50, Boott Mill, and other completed work at www. architecturalteam.com/portfolio.

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your FINGERTIPS

“Tax credit incentives were a key to the city of Lowell’s success, helping restore one of America’s most dramatic historic sites while also injecting vitality and pride into a now-flourishing neighborhood and tourist attraction.”

Read more of the recent blog post by Robert J. Verrier, FAIA, on Preservation Nation: Human Energy (and Historic Credits) Help “Re-Boott” Historic New England Mill.

To read more, visit us at www.architecturalteam.com/ news/news coverage.

The Architectural Team Designs New Resident-Centric Assisted Living and Memory Care Community

Photo Credit: Nat Rea

Client: The Northbridge Companies | Contractor: Callahan Construction | Interiors: Group One Partners, Inc.

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Rendering by Kitty Lee

tonebridge at Burlington—a premier assisted living and memory care community—opened its door to residents in February, promoting a lifestyle of wellness and balanced, healthy living.

According to Wendy Nowokunski, president of The Northbridge Companies and developer of the property, “The Stonebridge design incorporates what the assisted living industry has learned over the last decade in terms of what baby boomers want and value most in an independent and assisted living environment—amenities that can be enjoyed by both residents and their families.” In addition, the facility offers innovative health and wellness programs designed specifically for residents with memory impairment.

nity is comprised of 84 independent and assisted living units and 26 memory care units. Residents are offered a comprehensive array of “resort-like” amenities while still meeting the goal of creating a homelike environment. These include a gracious restaurant-style dining room, private dining room for family gatherings, a pub, café, full-service spa, fitness center, Brain Gym, theater, library, activity room, sunroom, and 24-hour care staff. The design also incorporates an enclosed landscaped courtyard with an outdoor fireplace.

Located in Burlington, Mass. within close proximity to shopping, downtown and major highways, the 110 unit commu-

“The firm’s design approach was to create an active living environment to encourage interaction within the community; yet also

allow residents to maintain a sense of independence and privacy,” said Michael E. Liu, AIA, NCARB, principal, TAT. “This was achieved by locating amenities along a continuous wandering path which creates a loop around the building, with resident units located within close proximity to allow for easy access to these areas.”

Stonebridge represents one of five assisted living and memory care communities in Massachusetts that the firm designed for Northbridge to include Avita Needham, Autumn Glen at Dartmouth, Stafford Hill, Plymouth; and Carriage House at Lee Farms, Wayland, currently under construction.

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Photo credit: Warren Jagger

Revitalizing Springfield Block By Block

Awards In celebration of the firm’s 41+

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Anniversary, TAT recently sponsored a student design competition with

n 2007, when First Resource

the Boston Architectural College.

Companies acquired 27 dis-

The competition titled: Transforming

tressed properties in the most

Boston’s Neighborhoods: The Future of

troubled neighborhoods in Springfield, Mass., it regenerated hope for residents and the community. Today, the company owns 42 buildings comprising over 600 units.

Site Plan showing Outing Park I + II and Concord Heights.

Prior to the company’s involvement, many of the properties were slated for demolition as the city was in need of significant capital reinvestments to restore affordable housing properties that fell into extreme disrepair over the years. Led by Gordon Pulsifer, president of First Resource and designed by The Architectural Team, the neighborhood transformations have been steadily progressing over the past five years revitalizing numerous properties. These include the award-winning City View Commons I, City View Commons II, and the more recently completed Concord Heights. These three properties alone encompass 20 buildings and provide over 400 units of multifamily housing. Multi-block developments slated for future rehabilitation include Outing Park I, recently permitted, and Outing Park II, which adds another 190 units in 16 buildings to First Resource’s portfolio. The firm’s work on all five properties involves extensive exterior masonry repairs, restoration to architectural detail-

Multifamily Housing, was offered as a semester-long design studio focused on multifamily buildings and innovative urban planning to create new ideas in housing to serve today’s society.

Juried by a BAC-selected panel of the College’s faculty and Boston’s architectural design community, student winners were selected in January. The firm donated $5,000 to fund the inaugural course, with $2,500 awarded in cash prizes.

Top honors were awarded to Agustin Jesus and Jessica Leong, with an honorable mention to Niusha Aghdali. The “Gateway Program” student team: Stan Poreda, Mandy Li, and Marwan Ghabour also received top honors. “Gateway” is an undergraduate student learning and mentoring program.

ing, window replacement, HVAC upgrades, site improvements, and unit fixtures and finishes upgrades.

“Cities like Springfield are beginning to reignite the vitality of their neighborhoods, one city block at a time. And thanks to the continued efforts by hands-on developers like Gordon, there have been measurable, steady improvements,” said Robert J. Verrier, FAIA, NCARB, co-founder/managing principal, TAT. “Our firm remains committed to collaborating with developers such as First Resource to ensure the inventory of safe, quality and affordable homes are preserved for families in need.”

Shown in photo : Partial rendering of Agustin Jesus’ design

To view student work please visit us on facebook @ www.facebook.com/the-architectural-team.com.

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City View Commons I awarded with 2011 Springfield Preservation Trust Award in recognition of maintaining and restoring buildings that reflect the city’s architectural and cultural heritage.

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Carriage House at Lee Farms, Wayland, MA | Watercolor rendering by Rob Leanna

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N E W S U P D AT E S O N S E L E C T TAT P R O J E C T S

Carriage House at Lee Farms

Fairfax Gardens + Parcel 6A, Taunton, MA celebrated its official groundbreaking on March 5.

Funded by a HOPE VI Revitalization grant, the redevelopment of the new affordable housing community involves demolishing existing distressed public housing buildings, and constructing 88 new affordable townhome-style units on the Fairfax site, and 72 new mixed-income units on Parcel 6A.

Wayland, Massachusetts

Slated to be completed in the fall 2013, the firm designed the interior and exterior of the new assisted living and memory care community to reflect the architectural character of connected farm buildings of New England on the site of a former working farm. The 54,000 square foot building will provide a mix of 33 assisted living units and 29 units in a secure memory care wing.

Shared amenities include dining and living rooms, fitness/physical therapy center, activity rooms, beauty salon, massage parlor, and Brain Gyms. The memory care wing is designed with a private 4,000 square foot secured landscaped courtyard with exterior gas fireplace. The assisted living section of the community features a bar/pub, as well as a lounge with a gas fireplace and a 4,000 square foot courtyard.

Client: The Northbridge Companies | Contractor: Callahan Construction

Franklin Square House, Kenmore Abbey, and Blackstone Apartments Boston, Massachusetts

Over 25 years ago, the firm designed the historic conversions of the famous Franklin Square House and storied Kenmore Abbey into new affordable senior housing developments providing 193 and 199 units, respectively. Fast forward to 2013 when TAT completed the second generation of moderate rehabilitation work on these two properties; as well as Blackstone Apartments, a 145 unit affordable senior housing development. Work completed on all properties include exterior masonry repair, window replacement, accessibility improvements, fire alarm system updates, HVAC equipment upgrades, energy upgrades, resident common area finishes and landscaping/site upgrades.

Oliver Lofts, in Roxbury, MA was presented with the 2012 J. Timothy Anderson Award for Historic Preservation from the National Rehabilitation & Housing Association on February 25 in Washington, D.C.. The firm designed the conversion of the two historic mill buildings into a 62 unit mixed-income apartment community, developed by WinnDevelopment.

The firm congratulates Chris Chiurri, LEED AP, newly registered architect in Massachusetts and recently appointed associate member of the Melrose Historical Commission; and Andrea Hester for her recent completion of her Master of Architecture degree from the Boston Architectural College.

Client: Preservation of Affordable Housing | Contractor: CWC Builders

St. Joseph’s Church Redevelopment Salem, Massachusetts

Demolition commenced in January of the 63-year-old vacant church to clear the site for a new affordable workforce housing development. Construction of the new $27M, four-story apartment building will provide 51 one-, two-, and three-bedroom units and street-level retail space. The project is expected to be completed by late fall 2013.

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Stay connected to TAT on our social media sites. Updates on the firm’s new projects and media activity are posted frequently.

Client: Planning Office for Urban Affairs | Contractor: Dellbrook Construction

TEAMTIMES

is published quarterly. For more information, please contact Valerie Capone at 617.889.4402. To subscribe to an electronic version of TEAM TIMES, please visit www.architecturalteam.com & click on the “News” section. Copyright © 2013.

The Architectural Team, Inc.

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For more information, please contact Valerie Capone at 617.409.3517 or email at vcapone@architecturalteam.com.