157 Washington Street Dorchester, MA
Client: Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation

The brick façade of this charming one-story light industrial building, with arched parapets and corbelled pilasters, has been preserved as the street face for a mixed use development with twenty-four units and approximately 2,500 SF of retail space, located on a major street in Dorchester.

The original building, which occupied virtually the entire three-quarter acre site, has been demolished, allowing development of an attractive, contemporary townhouse-style residential neighborhood accessed through a gateway opening formed by one of the bays in the original façade.

Above and immediately behind the preserved façade, new elevator accessed units occupy a structure that references earlier architectural elements, and at the same time, acknowledges the three- and four-story residential character of the neighborhood. Designed to LEED Gold standards, the building will have a portion of its electrical needs met by roof-mounted photovoltaics.

Site development includes surface parking for all units, concealed behind the original façade, and a play area for the use of residents.