Pleasant Street Housing_Supporting Project Information_with photos_10-14...
Joint Venture Partnership
181 Main Street, Suite One
Northampton, MA 01060
413 585-5910
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129 Pleasant Street: Supporting Project Information
General Project Information:
The property is located at the intersection of Pleasant Street and the Manhan Rail Trail (See Attached: Aerial
View/Locus Map and Site Vicinity and Abutters Plan). It is bounded on the east by Pleasant Street, on the south
by the Manhan Rail Trail, on the north by the 5‐story Hampton Court Apartments and on the west by a parking lot
for the Hampton Court Apartments.
The proposed building is a 4 and 5 level, 64,254 gross square foot structure (no basement space) constructed of a
combination of steel and wood framing with exterior finishes that vary to reflect the different contexts they face
(see following material descriptions). The building will be a mixed used structure that will provide 72 affordable
and market rate one bedroom and studio apartments on 5 levels. The residential portion of the building will also
include community meeting spaces, shared casual seating areas and shared laundry space. Additionally the
building will feature 3,590 net square feet of commercial space along Pleasant Street and HAP Residential office
space and conference rooms to provide services to residents in HAP managed properties in Northampton and the
vicinity.
The property will also accommodate on‐site loading/trash and recycling collections and provide 6 on‐grade
parking spaces. Covered bicycle parking will be provided for apartment residents and separate bicycle parking will
be provided for retail employees and customers along the Pleasant Street side of the building.
Site Planning and Urban Design Concepts:
The proposed building replaces a low 2 story structure which does not fulfill many of the Central Business District
design guidelines and would likely be considered an “anomaly building” that does not contribute to the creation of
a commercial business district street edge and is substantially lower than the abutting residential structure and
commercial structure across Pleasant Street. See existing building/property below:
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Additionally, the existing building is in poor condition with both water penetration issues and structural issues.
Expansive parking with little landscape screening is one of the primary visual characteristics of the existing
property along with a 24” to 30” tall pressure treated wood retaining wall located along the Pleasant Street
sidewalk/property line.
The Pleasant Street sidewalk is narrow (approximately 6’‐0”) and creates pedestrian congestion where street
lights/signs intrude into the sidewalk area leading to a sense of being too close to parked cars and the bus stop.
(See Additional Photos Attached: Existing Conditions Photos & Key Map).
The proposed building addresses Pleasant Street with a 5 story masonry façade that provides 80’ of storefront
with 3,590sf of commercial on the ground level with 4 stories of residential apartments above. This creates a
strong commercial district façade that is located about halfway between the Pleasant Street property line and the
front of the Hampton Court Apartment building (which is setback +/‐16’‐6”). A front set back of 10’‐3” from the
Pleasant Street Property Line is proposed due to the very narrow 6’‐0” existing sidewalk, to allow greater
pedestrian walking space and to better accommodate the +/‐ 3’‐0” grade change along the property frontage (The
project seeks a special permit requesting that the Pleasant Street setback be 5’‐3” greater than the zoning
guideline maximum 5’‐0” as suggested to the design team by the City of Northampton at the September 16, 2014
Technical Review. Note: the Zoning Bylaws state: “The Planning Board may grant a special permit to allow a
building to be set farther back if it finds that a greater setback is necessary for urban pedestrian malls that
encourage street level activity”). The 60’ height of the Pleasant Street façade, with its strong belt‐course below
the 5th floor windows that aligns with the top of adjacent Hampton Court Apartment building and better reflects
the scale of the commercial buildings on Pleasant Street as it approaches Main Street. See examples below:
The entrance to HAP Housing’s administrative offices and to the 72 apartment units is recessed away from the
Pleasant Street sidewalk to provide an interval of landscape between the commercial storefront and the entrance
to the Manham Rail Trail. This landscaped area and the setback entrance allows space for an accessible sidewalk
(sloping less than 5%) to the office and apartment lobby area which is at an elevation 2’‐0” higher than the existing
sidewalk at that point.
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Exterior Materials, Massing and Facade Composition:
The exterior material palette and façade design reflects an effort to balance the design guidelines of the CBAC and
the realities of construction cost constraints that can make providing affordable residences a possibility. The
Pleasant Street façade will be brick with painted aluminum and glass storefront, the Manham Rail Trail Façade will
be brick nearest Pleasant Street and transition to a composition of colored concrete horizontal planks with vertical
accents of brick. The courtyard facades facing the rear of the property and the abutting Hampton Court
Apartments will be a mix of colored concrete planks and painted clapboards (these rear and courtyard facades will
be mostly out of view from Pleasant Street).
Although the gap between the proposed structure and the Hampton Court Apartments contradict the setting for a
“Theme Building”, we attempt to be a good neighbor and take inspiration from many downtown “Theme
Buildings” by utilizing more traditional materials, details and composition treatments on the Pleasant Street
façade. Standard size Harmar Golden Buff brick with MAPEI “Harvest” colored mortar is proposed, laid typically in
running bond with a series of major and minor piers that create a “3‐part” façade with each part appearing to
have a width less than its height.. A series of horizontal accent brick belt‐courses (one above the retail level and
the other at the sill of the 5th floor windows) emphasize a classical vertical composition theme of “base‐shaft‐
capital”. The façade includes a painted metal 48” tall cornice and painted aluminum storefront (Kawneer Tri‐Fab
series 451, black with clear insulating glass and obscure glass spandrels at the bulkhead and with painted panels
and louvers above the glass) with 3 recessed entrances. Windows in the apartment levels are fiberglass clad
double hung windows with a black finish. See precedent examples below:
The façade that faces the Manham Rail Trail makes a transition from the traditional brick of the Pleasant Street
façade to the more utilitarian materials of the rear and courtyard facades. The Harmar Golden Buff brick
continues back approximately 30’ back from Pleasant Street where a series of faceted facades clad in 6”x6’‐0”
Silvery Grey and 12”x6’‐0” Anthracite Grey horizontal concrete OKO (manufacturer name) rain‐screen system
separated by a series of 3 Hamar Golden Buff brick vertical feature walls that follow the curving alignment of the
Rail Trail. The size and scale of the durable, non‐decorative OKO panels reflect of the nature of the former
transportation corridor that is now the Rail Trail. It also reflects the precedent of many CBD buildings that utilize a
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more community minded face brick on their front façade and transition to a more utilitarian brick or other
material appropriate to their side and rear facades. See precedent examples below:
The base of the faceted façade utilizes a “rusticated” Anthracite Grey horizontal 6”x6’‐0” OKO panel system that
ties each facet together visually. Double hung windows of the same size, composition and color of the Pleasant
Street façade provides the different façade material treatments with a sense of continuity.
The rear and courtyard facades which are either not visible or dramatically set back from Pleasant Street are faced
with a more residential, yet durable rain‐screen façade of horizontal OKO accent bands and painted cement
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clapboards. The courtyard façade utilizes highly energy efficient casement windows. The base of the facades
utilize the same “rusticated” Anthracite Grey horizontal 6”x6’‐0” OKO panels as the Rail Trail façade to provide
continuity. The building’s stair towers are expressed on the rear and courtyard facades with a Silver Grey vertical
12”x6’‐0” OKO rain‐screen system.
Site and Landscape Design:
The site layout is characterized by 5 general zones: the retail/street front zone, the service entry/parking zone, the
apartment/offices entry zone, the rail/trail buffer zone and the courtyard plaza/landscape zone. The retail/street
front zone is a +/‐16’ wide public space that extends across the entire frontage of the property. This zone includes
the 6’‐0” sidewalk a 6’‐0” landscape zone that incorporates 2% sloped walks, steps and seating walls that makes
the transition between the sloping sidewalk and the horizontal walk adjacent to the retail space. The paving is a
combination of brick pavers and concrete slabs and continues the brick and concrete paving introduced in the
abutting Hampton Court and elsewhere in the CBD. See street front context examples below:
The service entry/parking zone accommodates a 16’‐0” wide off‐street loading access area, an 8’‐6” wide parking
strip and a 4’‐0” pedestrian walkway. The loading access drive is paved in a combination of bituminous asphalt
and patterned concrete to reduce the visual impact of the asphalt and to identify the transition from vehicular to
pedestrian circulation. The parking strip will be paved with a semi‐pervious paving. A planted buffer is provided
between the paved area and the abutting building and a raised seating wall and collection of trees creates a
“pocket park” along the sidewalk at the north side of the property.
The apartment/entry zone is also a “pocket park” feature that connects the retail/street front zone to the abutting
entrance to the Manham Rail Trail. It provides an accessible entrance to the apartment and offices as well as the
retail space sidewalk (the change in grade from the existing sidewalk to the retail space is 1’‐6” and the change in
grade to the office/lobby space is 2’‐0”). It also provides a defined and more private entrance sequence to the
residential portion of the structure.
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The rail/trail buffer zone includes a series of planted trees to provide a seasonally changing view for the first floor
residents and a natural screen between the rail trail and the upper residential units.
The courtyard plaza/landscape zone provides more private outdoor space for the residents of the building. It
includes a patterned concrete terrace at the courtyard entrance, a landscaped buffer between the abutting
Hampton Court and the proposed building and a mown lawn edged with a few benches oriented toward the
proposed building. A walkway connects the courtyard entrance to the parking area at the rear property line. 3
large existing honey locust trees will remain and provide a visual buffer between the building and the abutting
parking area. Importantly, the courtyard zone is subtly graded to provide surface rainwater storage during
occasional heavy rain events allowing rainwater to remain on‐site when the storm drainage system capacity is
exceeded.