Monday, October 30, 2017

PROPOSAL: UHOMES @ 90 ANTWERP STREET, BRIGHTON


Bird's Eye View of UHomes @ 90 Antwerp Street | View Hovering above Holton Street

UHomes @ 90 Antwerp Street is designed to precisely meet the lofty goals and aspirations of the RFP by responding directly to creating a mixed income community that includes many family oriented units and features, creatively enhancing the public realm with a contextually sensitive and contemporary design scheme, innovatively offering an energy efficient, sustainable and green development that is LEED “Gold” certified and generously providing a high quality public pocket park for the benefit of all neighbors.

DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
UHomes @ 90 Antwerp Street proposes a compact, flexible and environmentally sustainable building design, the program of which consists of 20 residential units approximately 21,500 gsf +/- with 20 on-site parking spaces, bicycle parking, trash and other service spaces spread over a collection of small buildings and a main block along Antwerp Street. In essence, the design proposal is conceived as a small village clustered around an internal street. A circulations spine threads these elements together and unifies the overall composition.

The unit types proposed will be four (4) 1 bedroom, six (6) 2 bedrooms and ten (10) 3 bedrooms units. 80% of all units are 3 bedrooms or 2 bedrooms with family-oriented features like ample storage spaces, efficiently laid out bedrooms and bathrooms, large kitchens (particularly for the 3 bedrooms units), in-unit laundry and individual dedicated parking spaces. Building solutions like ERV, air filtration, low VOC paints, cleanable and easy to maintain flooring surfaces, large generous windows that allow generous light and air will significantly add to the user comfort and quality of life of all residents, young and old. This proposed unit mix will help remediate the shortage of family sized units in the market.

Site Plan
Ground Floor Plan

AFFORDABILITY
This project also aims to provide quality housing opportunities for a variety of income levels in the City of Boston and help households being priced out of the Allston/Brighton neighborhood. 60% of all units, i.e. 12 units, will be deed-restricted as affordable units.

DESIGN
UHomes @ 90 Antwerp’s contextually sensitive design is integrated into the streetscape by blending the new and the old. 90 Antwerp’s design is contextually influenced by the existing architectural characters of the surrounding homes. Elements of texture, color, roof shape, window proportions, angular bays, balconies and entries are carefully and sensitively crafted to offer a more contemporary interpretation of a 21st century residential building. 
View of UHomes @ 90 Antwerp Street and Public Pocket Park along Gould Street
Building Elevations
View of a Typical Interior of the Family Sized Residential Units

OPEN SPACE
The proposal will allocate 50% of the lot for Open Space. This consists two components – a Public Pocket Park and a “living street” inspired by the Dutch concept of a “Woonerf” that combines parking, landscaping area, pedestrian paths and other passive residential uses. Besides, the roof will be covered with a green roof tray system and a selection of walls will also be green wall trellis systems. For a number of units, there are also balconies, planter boxes and patios.

View of Public Pocket Park
View of "Woonerf" / Living Street
View of Balcony with Planter Boxes and Green Roof System

SUSTAINABILITY
90 Antwerp Street is designed to be LEED for Homes Gold Certifiable status. The Home Energy Rating System (HERS) score is targeted to be at least an average HERS 50 range +/-. The project embodies an approach that reflects its context as well as reduces its environmental impact through a combination of active and passive strategies. The project is energy driven, and as such, specifications support the goal of maximizing energy efficiency by reducing the loads demanded by the home.
Section Diagram Showcasing Green and Sustainable Features

LONG-TERM MANAGEMENT PLAN
UHOMES LLC has formed partnership with Peabody Properties, Inc., who will be acting as the property manager for the residential units. Peabody Properties is the property manager for Charlesview Residences, a mixed-income community next to the project.  

Meanwhile, UHOMES LLC plans to work with an open space/public park conservation organization such as The Trustees / Boston Community Gardens, a non-profit organization specialized in preserving, expanding and improving urban open space. UHOMES LLC will also work with the City of Boston and the neighborhood to develop a comprehensive open space program that would best suit this unique location.


Please click here to find more information about this RFP and review UHomes' full proposal. 
Please send Gerald Autler (the Project Manager at BPDA) your support for the UHomes/Urbanica proposal.


Bird's Eye View of UHomes @ 90 Antwerp Street | Highlighting Open Spaces at Public Pocket Park and Living Street



Wednesday, October 18, 2017

PARCEL 9: MELNEA HOTEL + RESIDENCES PROJECT CONTRIBUTING $400K TO ROXBURY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS


 
 

As part of the community benefits created by the Melnea Hotel + Residences project, $400,000 was contributed to community organizations in Roxbury on October 12, 2017. Mayor Martin J. Walsh, accompanied by officials from Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA), presented 12 community-based organizations with the community benefit funds for workforce development initiatives for Roxbury residents. Kamran Zahedi, President of Urbanica Inc., participated this event with great honor.

In addition to contributing the funds, the Melnea Hotel + Residences project will bring new jobs and affordable housing to the area. Urbanica is pleased to see how development can empower communities.

More information can be found at: