Selby Commons

“New Urbanist”,
housing over retail

Preserved
neighborhood
landmark

Balconies provide
supervised
play space

This sturdy, old, manufacturing building created a unique challenge when the developer (Selby Commons Limited Partnership) set out to create a mixed-use facility with single parent housing on the upper floor and commercial rental space at street level. Because of its almost square shape and irregular fenestration, the building was difficult to subdivide and still respect the client's request for identical units. These problems were overcome and a new opportunity gained by pulling the exteriors of the apartments inward from the existing walls. Exterior space, otherwise unusable, became individual terraces providing supervised play spaces and crime fighting “eyes on the Avenue” above the street.