Hamilton Heights | San Marco | Kennedy Biscuit Lofts
Lafayette Place | Baker Chocolate Factory | The Car Barn
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Project
The rehabilitation of three historic mills along the Neponset River in Dorchester, Massachusetts into 142 luxury rental apartments

Client
Keen Development Corporation
Cambridge, Massachusetts

Budget
$7,100,000

Design Challenge
To create appealing luxury apartments within an oddly configured combination of buildings and successfully link the three main mills while establishing a unified, coherent circulation system

 

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Awards Received:

  • Advisory Council for Historic Preservation & Development of the Interior
    National Historic Preservation Award
  • Massachusetts Historical Commission
    Preservation Award

The Architectural Team's rehabilitation of Adams, Pierce and Preston Mills was honored with both the President's Award for Historic Rehabilitation and the award for the "Best Historic Rehabilitation Certified by the National Park Service in the Past 20 Years."

The challenge in designing The Baker Chocolate Factory was twofold. First was arranging the dwelling units within oddly configured existing spaces - some of which had columns spaced as tightly as 9 feet x 9 feet on center. Second, was to link the three buildings' many levels with a unified, coherent circulation system while adding a minimum number of elevators.

The design capitalizes on the spaces formed between the buildings and adjacent natural outcroppings to create residential entry courtyards. Asphalt service drives were stripped to reveal original cobbled pavement, and a modulated pressure wash was specified to restore delicate terra cotta detail hidden by 100 years of layered paint.