Plans call for converting the second and third floors of the Watchung Avenue building from 60 single-room occupancy units to small apartments where the young people can live while making a transition to becoming self-supporting. The program includes counseling by staff that will occupy a new two-bedroom unit. The conversion will require a new elevator as well as an addition to the third floor.
Architects Dan Nichols and Richard Ragan
The changes will require a certificate of appropriateness from the HPC, as the YMCA is in the Civic Historic District, but Tuesday's discussion was informal. Representatives of the YMCA will apply for a hearing at a later date.
The conversion of the upper floors will not affect YMCA programs below.
As described by architects Dan Nichols and Richard Ragan, the addition on the third floor will have a stucco finish colored to match the brick facade of the existing building. The apartments will range from 369 to 550 square feet and each will accommodate just one person.
The conceptual discussion was the second for YMCA representatives in a week. On Thursday, the Planning Board heard the concept. In both instances, board members and commissioners asked what would become of the SRO unit occupants. On Thursday, YMCA representatives said occupants received assistance in relocating and only 14 remained. By Tuesday, the count was down to nine.
The YMCA will make formal applications to both the Planning Board and the HPC in coming months. Funding is expected to be in place by January, with construction to follow in 2016.
The project first came to light by way of a City Council agenda in March 2014. Municipal approval is often important for new projects in the city, especially as one element in seeking other endorsements and funding.
--Bernice
I hope they run this by jerry green so he can spoon feed this information to tweedle dee, tweedle dumb, and tweedle do'h before they claim they have no clue about it
ReplyDeleteThis is not an architectural criticism forum, but I wonder if these designs are a result of a lack of imagination on the part of the architects and principals, or just a way to make structures on the cheap. I can't imagine their stucco made to look like brick- isn't that brickface- will blend seamlessly with the existing structure, so why try to hide it? Get inspiration from the Georgian mansions in Plainfield. Most have wooden wings and porches. The 3rd floor addition would look great if it was clapboard (vinyl sided?) or paneled and set back a foot from the lower brick wall with columns separating each set of windows. It wouldn't try to pretend to be something it wasn't with brickface. Just a suggestion.
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