Features

Auto court creates
shared focus for
three families of
friends

Panel/Batten
elements allowed
for client styles
in a united whole

Screen porches
provide “front yard”
viewing of street
and nearby park

The Eustis Residence

In 2003, three families which had been friends for many years approached Close Associates to design a compound where they could live together in individual townhomes. They had found an interesting site along a major highway on a north-facing hillside. The first challenge was creating a site plan which gave each unit a view of the nearby park and a sense of privacy while maintaining a feeling of community. The townhomes are built in a stepped design around a central auto court. This provides a central “commons” yet allows for three architectural styles, which range from Tudor to Japanese contemporary, and are tied together by common roof and trim elements. Each unit has a screened porch and a view of the Minneapolis skyline. The townhome design allowed for efficiencies that kept the project on budget.