• Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin
  • RSS
  • Sign In
  • My Account
High-Profile MonthlyNew England Facilities Development News
  • All News
      • Up Front
      • Groundbreaking
      • Topping Off
      • Ribbon Cutting
      • View All Up Front Stories
      • Luis R. Frias IIFrias Named BPDA’s Director of DEI
      • Special Features
      • Contributor
      • Green
      • J.E.D.I.
      • Mechanical / Electrical / Plumbing (MEP)
      • Vision
      • Women In Construction
      • Regions
      • Connecticut
      • Northern New England
      • Popular Sectors
      • Cannabis
      • Corporate
      • Education
      • Healthcare
      • Interiors
      • Landscape/Civil
      • Life Science
      • Multi Residential
      • Restoration/Renovation
      • Retail/Hospitality
      • Senior/Assisted Living
      • Technology & Innovation
      • Other News
      • Awards
      • Community
      • COVID-19
      • Mixed-use
      • Municipal
      • National/International
      • Organizations and Events
      • People
      • Philanthropy
      • Products and Services
      • Real Estate
      • Training and Recruitment
  • Subscribe
  • Membership
  • Next Issue
  • Archive
  • Advertise
  • Podcast
  • Events
    • Industry Events
    • A/E/C Associations
High-Profile Monthly
  • All News
      • Up Front
      • Groundbreaking
      • Topping Off
      • Ribbon Cutting
      • View All Up Front Stories
      • Luis R. Frias IIFrias Named BPDA’s Director of DEI
      • Special Features
      • Contributor
      • Green
      • J.E.D.I.
      • Mechanical / Electrical / Plumbing (MEP)
      • Vision
      • Women In Construction
      • Regions
      • Connecticut
      • Northern New England
      • Popular Sectors
      • Cannabis
      • Corporate
      • Education
      • Healthcare
      • Interiors
      • Landscape/Civil
      • Life Science
      • Multi Residential
      • Restoration/Renovation
      • Retail/Hospitality
      • Senior/Assisted Living
      • Technology & Innovation
      • Other News
      • Awards
      • Community
      • COVID-19
      • Mixed-use
      • Municipal
      • National/International
      • Organizations and Events
      • People
      • Philanthropy
      • Products and Services
      • Real Estate
      • Training and Recruitment
  • Subscribe
  • Membership
  • Next Issue
  • Archive
  • Advertise
  • Podcast
  • Events
    • Industry Events
    • A/E/C Associations

Reinventing Multigenerational Housing: A New Take on the Triple-Decker

March 26, 2018

by Gregory O. Minott

Affordable living options are in high demand, particularly in urban areas. In Boston, triple-deckers (or three-deckers) once provided an economical homeownership option with the building owner living in one unit while renting the other units to family members or other tenants. Many triple-deckers have been converted to individual condos, but a new homeownership option that embraces the traditional triple-decker family living model is on the rise.

The design centers around a two- or three-bedroom townhouse stacked above a smaller, ground-floor unit, with a shared exterior entrance and common hallway linking unit doors. Each unit can function independently, with private bathroom, kitchen, laundry, and outdoor areas, but the welcoming feeling of one large home can easily be created by opening the connecting doors.

The potential exists for a range of multigenerational living arrangements, whether supporting young adults just beginning their careers or housing aging parents. The smaller unit could also serve as an economic engine, contributing to the financial well-being of a family by functioning as a live/work space to house a small business or as a rental unit for additional income.

Unlike two- and three-family options favored by past generations, this new urban housing model offers a range of unit sizes and configurations to match a variety of households and phases of life and can be recreated on a larger scale with clusters of multigenerational multifamily buildings arranged to create walkable, family-friendly neighborhoods.

24 Westminster Avenue

DREAM Collaborative, winner of a pilot Housing Innovation Competition as both designer and developer, is testing this unique multigenerational housing concept at 24 Westminster Avenue in Roxbury with the transformation of a long vacant, 10,000sf parcel into a moderate-density multifamily development. In 2017, the mayor’s Housing Innovation Lab, Department of Neighborhood Development (DND), Garrison Trotter Neighborhood Association (GTNA), and the Boston Society of Architects (BSA) solicited proposals to address rising housing prices and create more middle-income housing, and sought an efficient, compact module design that could be adapted to fit various in-fill sites around the city.

DREAM Collaborative’s winning design features 12 units that can be purchased in pairs to function as a family’s living space plus an in-law suite or investment rental property, or sold as separate condos to different owners. The contemporary, sustainable, and highly efficient units promote community and cooperative living with a range of sizes to match a variety of households, from single-person households to the traditional family model to an extended family arrangement.

Designed to meet LEED Gold, Energy Star protocols will be applied throughout, including specialty roofing to reduce heat island effect, Energy Star appliances, water sense plumbing fixtures, energy-efficient windows and lighting fixtures, and a thoughtful interior layout to maximize daylighting. The wood-framed building will be solar-ready and feature integrated smart home technologies for comfort and convenience as well as efficiency. The transit-oriented development is conveniently located near public open space and a variety of community resources, encouraging the use of public transportation, shared vehicles, walking, and biking, with limited onsite parking spaces available for purchase.

DREAM Collaborative envisions this creative design solution functioning as a prototype for future residential development ventures throughout Boston. It reflects how people live today and reinforces the benefits many first-generation families realize by consolidating their households. It also responds to the renewed entrepreneurial spirit of the gig economy and provides opportunities for investment and wealth creation.

Multigenerational living arrangements provide families with affordable home ownership and an appealing opportunity to maintain a strong connection between generations. Developing multifamily buildings to accommodate multiple generations provides flexible, economical housing choices to help cities like Boston overcome housing challenges.

Gregory O. Minott,, AIA, LEED AP, is the managing principal at DREAM Collaborative, an urban redevelopment architecture and planning firm.

 

 

architecture by-line DREAM Collaborative multi residential xApril '18 HP
    FacebookTwitterLinkedInEmail

You may also like

Contributor • Senior/Assisted Living

A New Age, and Continuum of Care...

March 31, 2023
Contributor • Multi Residential

Closing The Homeownership Gap in...

March 30, 2023
Multi Residential

$152M in Bonds Issued to Expand...

March 28, 2023
Contributor • Senior/Assisted Living

Renovating Occupied Senior Living...

March 28, 2023
Contributor • Life Science • MEP

Developing a Quality Base Building...

March 23, 2023
Contributor • MEP

Sprinkler Design Challenges for...

March 22, 2023
People

Fickett Joins HDR as Boston...

March 21, 2023
Multi Residential

Maugel DeStefano Begins Second...

March 21, 2023

View the March 2023 issue!

Read HP’s 25th Anniversary Issue now!

Read the WIC 2023 Supplement!

Check out the 2022 Annual Green Supplement!

Read HP’s 2022 MEP issue!

Read our annual supplements!

  • Green2022.png
  • WIC2023.png
  • MEP2022.png
  • Vision-2019.png

HIGH-PROFILE MONTHLY
615 School St.
Pembroke, MA  02359
Phone: 781 294 4530
Fax:  781 293 5821
info@high-profile.com

Quick Links

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • My Account

Stay Informed

Sign up for Fast Facts Friday, our weekly e-newsletter, and stay up-to-date with the latest industry news!

Sign up
Subscribe to High-Profile Monthly to receive an email notice of each new article!
Loading

Copyright © 2023 High-Profile Monthly.

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin
  • RSS
  • Sign In
  • My Account