St. Joseph Apartments
Lowell, MA
CATEGORIES
- MULTI FAMILY HOUSING
- RENOVATION
- HISTORIC PRESERVATION
DESCRIPTION
- 15 units of affordable rental housing.
- 3 story former school building classified as historic.
- Restoration funded in part with Historic Tax-Credits.
- Preservation of exterior with all new windows and details to match original.
- Compete “gut renovation of interior to provide new housing units.
- 15,000sf.
COST
- $3,500,000
COMPLETION
- 2008
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DESIGN CHALLENGE
Design a complete renovation of an historic former Grammar School building, converting it into 15 units of affordable rental housing while preserving the historic detailing and character.
DESIGN APPROACH
The school had been vacant for many years and was in a state of complete disrepair. The neighbors hoped to retain the building and wanted it restored. No longer useful as a school building, our client chose to The design challenge was to give the building new life while preserving its historic detailing and character. Since project funding relied on Historic Tax Credits, we had to preserve the building exterior in the entirety while the interior finishes were preserved where possible or replicated in the public area in the building.
As a former school building, the interior central corridor lent itself to an apartment layout and was used as such. However the classrooms did not correspond to housing unit sizes and had to be completely reconfigured. This reconfiguration was driven by the central corridor and existing windows.
