Harbor Point
Corcoran Jennison Co., Inc.
Boston, Massachusetts
This successful, mixed-income community for 1,283 families was developed on the 50-acre site of Columbia Point, once New England’s largest public housing project. It combines new townhouses and mid-rises with renovated three- and seven-story existing buildings in a dramatic new street pattern that recalls traditional city layouts.
Relevant Project Information:
- Two-thirds of the mostly abandoned buildings were demolished.
- A new, rotated street grid replaces the 'towers-in-the park' layout of of the original housing project, creating vistas to the water, Boston skyline, and a new linear waterfront park.
- A long, formal mall, lined with trees and mid-rise apartments, was scaled closely to Boston's historic Commonwealth Avenue.
- Simple architectural details such as dormers, bay windows, pitched roofs, and balconies evoke traditional New England housing types.
- Development features a diversity of unit types and sizes: market-rate and subsidized apartments are seamlessly integrated.
- Development includes elderly housing, health clinic, recreational amenities, and convenience retail.
- Mintz Associates (Boston) designed the renovated buildings.
- Harbor Point influenced national housing policy, inspiring (in part) the federal government's HOPE VI program.
Awards:
- Urban Land Institute -- Award for Excellence
- Bruner Foundation, Inc. - Rudy Bruner Award in Urban Excellence
- Federation of Real Estate Professionals -- Prix D'Excellence
Additional Recognition:
- Featured in the New York Times, Architecture, Newsweek, and Urban Land magazines
- Featured in the books Urban Spaces and A Decent Place to Live
#
