Landmark Opportunities
Because POUA funded much of the renovation and conversion with historic tax credits, in addition to federal and private bank loans, state housing subsidies and local municipal funding, certain elements of the interiors work were bound to exacting National Park Service guidelines. Restoring the large interior chapel space, for example, required preserving the integrity of its large stained-glass windows, which were carefully de-leaded, along with the dentil cornice and paneled wainscoting. Similar historic trim work was restored at the main lobby entrance and along each floor’s primary corridor, where original wooden classroom doors were sanded and refinished in place to meet National Park Service requirements.
The largest programmatic challenge was in the adaptation of the original, 2,000-square-foot, double-height chapel space as a community room and lounge. Effectively programming such a large interior area for multiple uses demanded a thoughtful approach. The interiors team chose to employ furnishings as the main element for delineating space and breaking up the large community room into varied and enticing zones. A variety of different seating options, from inviting sectional sofas and individual lounge chairs to shuffleboard-game surfaces and clusters of tables near the included community kitchen, create configurable niches for different forms of interaction and activity while maintaining the grandeur of the historic space.
Using furnishings as an organizing element also helped the design team solve a secondary challenge created by the community room’s former life as a chapel: how best to make a space with built-in religious aspects work for a nondenominational community of diverse residents. By embracing the large stained-glass windows’ vibrant colors and reflecting them in the finishes and furnishings, TAT transformed the windows into individual artworks and elements of the décor, rather than as religious objects. Bright pops of yellow, red, and orange form a cohesive and fun palette, offering the kind of lively atmosphere befitting a space meant for resident engagement.
Clustered on the first floor along with the community room, other amenity spaces, including a laundry room and fitness center, reflect an equally deft programmatic solution. Because of the topography of the site, the second floor is effectively the main floor. The design team was challenged to think of ways to integrate the five units located on the first floor so they would not seem remote or less connected to the rest of the building. Locating much of the amenity space at this level and providing access to views across the site, the design team preserved a sense of interaction for residents of first-floor units, allowing these apartments to feel fully connected to the broader Bethany Apartment community.
The rest of the former dormitory building’s floor plan lent itself well to an apartment conversion, and the design team emphasized bringing natural light and design energy into the interior spaces. Bringing a more residential flavor to the long corridors, for example, a blend of crisp white and blue hues energizes the formerly drab walls, and carefully restored original 2-inch square tiles are painted into the color scheme so they blend into the space. Below residents’ feet, carpet tiles with cross-banded colors also visually break up corridor lengths. Throughout the building, artwork by former students graces the walls, providing a connection to the past that respects the Cardinal Cushing Centers’ innovative heritage and offering further visual interest.
The unit mix comprises eight one-bedroom apartments, 25 two-bedroom apartments and four three-bedroom apartments with a majority of units leased at affordable rates to serve households with incomes ranging from 50 to 60 percent of area median income. The four lowest-income units are rented with a preference for state Department of Mental Health clients. Individual units range in size from an average of around 710 square feet for a one-bedroom home to 885 square feet for a two-bedroom space and up to nearly 1,100 square feet for a three-bedroom unit.
All 37 apartments feature a durable and attractive mix of materials, including vinyl plank flooring that resembles wood, Shaker-style cabinetry with wood blocking and planking, high-quality appliances, LED lighting throughout, and a full array of innovative bathroom accessories and fixtures. The building’s numerous large windows ensure each home receives abundant natural illumination.
As the project team worked through final punch-list items in July 2018, the property was already two-thirds leased with 85 percent of those units occupied. Cardinal Cushing Centers’ officials noted that Bethany Apartments received several hundred applications for its 37 homes, reinforcing the reality that more developments of its kind are needed in the Hanover area.
At the groundbreaking nearly nine months prior, Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley reflected on POUA’s goals for Bethany Apartments. O’Malley remarked that Bethany Apartments, which is named for the biblical village signifying refuge, highlights a “commitment to develop true communities where people with a wide range of incomes and abilities can live together with dignity and respect.” For TAT and the rest of the project team, meeting that objective represents adaptive reuse at its best.
Retrofit Team
ARCHITECT AND INTERIOR DESIGNER: The Architectural Team Inc., Chelsea, Mass.
CLIENT: Planning Office for Urban Affairs (POUA), Boston
GENERAL CONTRACTOR: NEI General Contracting, Randolph, Mass.
CIVIL ENGINEER: Horsley Witten Group, Boston
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: Odeh Engineers, Boston
MEP ENGINEER: Wozny/Barbar & Associates Inc., Hanover, Mass.
ROOFING CONTRACTOR: Mahan Slate Roofing Co., Springfield, Mass.
LANDSCAPE: CC Consult Group, North Andover, Mass., (617) 997-3646
Materials
ROOFING SLATE: New England Slate
WINDOWS: Green Mountain Window
DOORS: Lang Door & Hardware
EXTERIOR CUSTOM DOORS: Upstate Door
CARPET: Milliken and Shaw
VINYL PLANK FLOORING: Shaw
INTERIOR LIGHTING FIXTURES: AFX Inc.; Columbia Lighting; and Kuzco Lighting
EXTERIOR LIGHTING FIXTURES: Environmental Lighting for Architecture Inc., and Hubbell Lighting
ELEVATOR: EcoSpace from KONE
ERV/HEAT PUMP: Greenheck
SPRAY FOAM INSULATION: Icynene
BATHROOM FIXTURES: Cleveland Faucet Group; Moen; and Niagara Conservation Corp.
Photos: JOEL HOWE