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In partnership with cdcb, we recently completed work at the Triplex on 325 W. Levee St. in Brownsville. We are pleased to have wrapped up this project to add to the rental housing available near downtown Brownsville.
Check out the before and after images below!
Construction is complete at 3318 Beall Street in the Dolphin Heights neighborhood of Dallas! Designed to accommodate a mixture of owner and renter occupied space to house people at different income levels and stages of life, we were fortunate to work with a client that values the interconnectedness of home as financial refuge, financial generator, and architectural expression of a commitment to place.
This project was a partnership with the University of Texas at Arlington Design/Build Studio. To read more about the home’s innovative design and how a house can support life cycle changes, click here.
Photos by Chad Davis
In partnership with CitySquare Housing, [bc] has been working on the conversion of the Hotel Miramar at 1950 Fort Worth Ave in Dallas into permanent supportive housing.
Built around 1953, the design is typical of the motels that were popular during that era. When this project is complete, it will comprise at least 40 units, each with a bedroom, bathroom, and kitchenette. Services will also be provided on-site, including case management, substance abuse assessment and support and employment assistance. Staff on-site will include a property manager, program manager, substance use specialist, employment specialist, outreach coordinator, and case manager.
Stay tuned for more from this project!
Miramar Motel in its heyday
Hotel Miramar at 1950 Fort Worth Ave
We recently wrapped up construction drawings for the interior remodeling of the Good Neighbor Settlement House kitchen and addition of a clinic consult and check up rooms.
This work is phase one of our three-phase remodel master site plan we developed for the downtown nonprofit agency serving Brownsville men, women, and children in need as part of our 2020 Brownsville City Design Studio. The partnership with GNSH began when [bc] developed the BCDS 2019 homelessness research initiative, “Restoring Dignity for the Homeless,” in which the GNSH participated as a crucial partner.
Phases two and three will involve the remodel of the two-story historic building which will serve as office space for the outreach GNSH staff and a new computer lab. Phase three will involve remodeling existing flatwork and ramps to be ADA compliant and making landscape improvements to beautify the site. Stay tuned for more!
Current conditions for remodeling:
Phase 1 Render
Along with cdcb, we recently had a pre-construction tour of Samano Studios & Armand's Grocery in Brownsville. This renovation is transforming the turn-of-the-century Samano Building in historic downtown Brownsville into permanent supportive housing studio apartments, office spaces, a grocery store and a coffee shop.
Folks at the pre-construction tour got a sneak peek of the current state of the building as well as what’s in store for the historic structure. Check out these renderings that Alison designed of the future space:
We’re excited to announce that we have a new project starting up in Dallas!
With funding from the Truist Foundation and the MUFG Union Bank Foundation, we have begun a partnership with East Dallas Christian Church (EDCC) in their effort to repurpose existing assets in the Peak's Addition neighborhood of Dallas and explore the reprogramming of existing facilities as well as affordable housing options for their vacant property. Church Cartographers, a mission-based consulting firm specializing in reimagining underutilized church assets, and East Dallas Development Organization (EDCO) are also key project partners joining in this effort.
When the project is complete, EDCC will have a vision for community programming of an unused building as well as a report on their vacant land detailing:
Number of units that could be built
What percentage of AMI could be served at each price point
Preliminary development proforma
Potential cash flow resulting from project, should EDCC wish to pursue it
The research produced through this project will add to [bc]’s ongoing efforts to push innovative solutions for affordable housing in Dallas. Like so many other cities, Dallas faces major housing affordability issues,with low-income communities of color being most at-risk of displacement and losing the rich historic character of their neighborhoods. The aim is to approach the concept of the Missing Middle - an industry term for the lack of quality low rise medium density housing options) to meet the demands of affordable housing, equitable opportunities for home ownership, and healthy neighborhoods. See image below, courtesy of missingmiddlehousing.com.
We have been engaged in research and mapping to understand existing neighborhood assets and opportunities and will begin the community engaged design process in the weeks to come. Stay tuned for more from this exciting project!
Over the past two months, [bc] has been honored to partner with UTA Design/Build Professor Julia Lindgren and her fantastic students in the construction over at 3318 Beall Street, our latest design/build project in Dallas.
Since mid-March, this class made amazing progress on the house. Now that their semester has wrapped up, we all gathered onsite for a celebration of their work yesterday. It was a great time to check out all the work the students have done and to celebrate their contribution! We look forward to keeping in touch with the students and know amazing things are in store for them as they continue their education.
Check out the photos from the celebration!
![Professor Julia Lindgren, former [bc] member, speaks about the process and learnings from the project](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5248ebd5e4b0240948a6ceff/1620749327868-Y3QLV97J4SNRFHY4NQVP/IMG_0240.jpg)
In late 2020, we began work with our partner cdcb on an exciting historic adaptive reuse of the Samano Building in downtown Brownsville. Located at 1158 E. Elizabeth Street, the property consists of five stories, each approximately 5,775 square feet, with a basement. Originally built as a bank in 1925, the Samano building most recently was a Payless Shoe Store, followed by a period of vacancy until cdcb acquired the building.
When complete, the Samano Building will include a small grocery store and coffee shop on the ground floor (filling the gap in nutritious grocery access left when HEB moved from its downtown location), coworking/office spaces on the middle floor, and 34 units of affordable housing on the top floors with set-asides for citizens in transition.
Check out these photos of Samano - including what it looked like in its heyday and a rendering of what the building will look like when work is complete!
Samano soon after construction at 1158 E. Elizabeth Street
The building as it stands today
The future Samano Building - rendering by Donald Hickman
In December 2020, [bc] was selected as part of a team led by Studio-MLA along with AGWms_studio and local landscape architecture firm studioOutside to design a new community park at Fair Park, the 277-acre National Historic Landmark in Dallas that's home to the State Fair of Texas.
Replacing over one thousand parking spaces, the project will feature an 11-acre park with free programming for children, adults, and seniors. The planned Community Park design will be co-created with residents and could include features like a large lawn, a children's play area, naturalized plantings, remembrance gardens, a pavilion for gatherings, movable tables and chairs, and more.
As part of the core design team, [bc] will rely on an interdisciplinary process of co-creation to provide architectural services related to the overall park vision, pavilion, and supporting facilities of the new Community Park. We are excited to help envision a transformative and just public space for Dallas.
Design meetings are beginning now with residents of the Fair Park area. Sign up to receive updates on the project here!
Program ideas generated through the Fair Park Master Plan engagement process. Image courtesy fairparkfirst.org
Design engagement for the Fair Park Master Plan. Images courtesy fairparkfirst.org
Along with Enterprise Green Communities and cdcb | come dream. come build., [bc] has been at work refining core module options for MiCASiTA, our innovative grow-home model that allows families to purchase a home that is designed to grow as their family and finances do.
Over the last few months, our team has gotten together for several report and design charrette meetings to review required and optional categories for Enterprise Green Communities Certification. This certification allows us to act on an integrative design process and set specific goals. The criteria checklist is a useful guide as we design the MiCASiTA grow-home model and seek to tap into economic, health, and environmental benefits.
Each MiCASiTA module will come prefabricated and will feature a main array of amenities and necessities. For example, our “Smart Box” options include a KITCHEN + BATHROOM + LAUNDRY or BEDROOM + LIVING ROOM. These two core options will then create our main starting point to the MiCASiTA grow home model. After the initial core is created and placed onsite for the family to move into, separate modules that can be added onto the home over time may feature an “Office Box” that has a BEDROOM + OFFICE + BATHROOM, a “Kids Box” featuring 2 BEDROOM + BATHROOM, or a “Flex Box” with GARDEN / GARAGE / STORAGE.
The graphic below represents the L core diagram, with the two “Smart Boxes” coming together to illustrate the process of the grow-home model. The top shows Gable Roof and the bottom shows a Shed Roof.
Our next steps as the design team are to come up with a thoughtful façade design and wrap up to begin the permitting process.
Core massing option graphic by Oscar Olvera.
The Jackson Street Cottages are located at the intersection of E Jackson and 16th Street in Brownsville, Texas. After being held by the same owner for decades, the residences went on the market in 2020 and were at risk of being purchased by a commercial buyer.
In an effort to preserve rental units close to downtown and to maintain the historic character of the development, the City of Brownsville approached [bc]’s partner, come dream. come build. cdcb, to request that they purchase the property to save it from being demolished and converted into commercial use. cdcb agreed and has brought [bc] on as lead architect.
There are three buildings on the property, with five units total. All units are in a deteriorated condition, both interior and exterior. Two of the buildings are historically significant. The project will involve rehabilitating the historic doors, windows, and siding for 2 structures on Lot 1, which are on the list of Texas Historic Sites. The two contributing structures are at 1026-1030 E Jackson St in Brownsville.
Records show that the buildings were located on site between 1930 and 1957. The vernacular building is a contributing structure and provides historic character and a sense of place to the immediate surrounding thanks to its location on the corner.
We are set to break ground in March 2021. Look out for more updates from this exciting project!
[bc] has been working on a design/build project in the Dolphin Heights neighborhood of Dallas. We have worked with a client to design a 1500 square foot affordable house. We are acting as the designer and builder, focusing on sustainability by maximizing the use of pre- and post-consumer recyclable materials in construction and pursuing a LEED certifiable design. When complete, this project will be an example for a new way forward in affordable home delivery and ownership for the city of Dallas.
We are currently wrapping up with the permitting process, after which construction will begin. We’re looking to have it finished by May/June. We have already identified a buyer, and she and her family can’t wait to move into their new home!
WHY WE’RE DOING IT
Housing costs are skyrocketing in cities across the country, including Dallas. The median rent in Dallas is $1,250, a rate which is out of reach for Dallas’s homeless and low income residents earning less than 0-31% of the Dallas AMI, which equals an income of $1617.8 per month. Unfortunately, recent housing production in Dallas has not met the need for low-income families. The majority of new housing in the City of Dallas has been concentrated in just a few of its wealthier neighborhoods, despite widespread growth across the city’s nearly 400 neighborhoods. Approaching this problem requires innovative solutions in design and construction. Focusing on the design-build approach, which reduces costs and expedites the construction process while allowing for maximum input from the homebuyer, results in both time and dollars saved -- money that can then be put toward developing more affordable housing or directly into the client’s pocket.
This project was funded in part by a generous contribution from the Truist Foundation.
We are excited to announce that cdcb | come dream. come build. and [bc] are among the 6 winning teams for the Housing Affordability Breakthrough Challenge from Enterprise and Wells Fargo. With this award, our team will have $2.5 million to expand our innovative solution for rural homeownership, MiCASiTA, from 2020 to 2022.
ABOUT MiCASiTA
Affordable housing is too often synonymous with a one-size-fits-all approach that fails to offer any real choices for families most in need. MiCASiTA allows residents and community members to make decisions about each housing development – cultivating agency and control that yields power.
MiCASiTA is a unique off-the-shelf environmentally sustainable, disaster-resilient modular homeownership innovation. It is designed for rural families across the Rio Grande Valley and more communities struggling with persistent poverty nationwide. MiCASiTA marks a departure from a one-size-fits-all model to a system that empowers communities of color with modest incomes to choose and design their own homes.
WHAT WE’LL DO
Over the course of its grant, cdcb and [bc] aim to build six prototype dwellings whose construction costs are less per square foot than the average unit in the market. They will complete the design and launch of their Choice Empower software system, allowing clients to choose and weigh the costs of design options. They will also expand the MiCASiTA model to one additional persistent poverty region in the United States.
Looking beyond the lifespan of the grant, cdcb believes that successful scale for MiCASiTA is not just increased unit production: It is a client-led design and production system that is easily adopted and implemented across the country. That system will include a franchise model with built-in systems, processes and technology to support market diversity and context, both culturally and economically.
Most importantly, MiCASiTA aspires to generate a documented increase in client empowerment that shows measurable improvement in families’ physical and financial health and the true transfer of intergenerational wealth in communities of color.
Meet the other amazing winners of the Housing Affordability Breakthrough Challenge!
Check out Casitas de Azucar, our latest multifamily project in Santa Rosa, TX!
Read MoreThere’s a new multifamily project in the pipeline in the RGV. It’s set to break ground soon - check out these renderings in the meantime!
Read MoreCheck out our progress on the Belden Trail - a new extension for the Buena Vida neighborhood in Brownsville!
Read MoreLearn about our work in affordable housing in Houston, TX.
Read MoreWe are excited to announce that 18 families have now moved into their new homes at Tangelo Quarters! This our most recent multifamily development in partnership with the Community Development Corporation of Brownsville and the Housing Authority of Brownsville. All families living at Tangelo Quarters will enjoy a range of community amenities, such as a playground area, barbecue pavilions, and a community garden all connected by accessible routes strategically placed throughout the property.
The site is located in the Southmost area of Brownsville, a neighborhood that has historically had to deal with flooding issues due to inadequate infrastructure. With this context in mind, we designed native landscape and LID (low-impact development) infrastructure to help with drainage. As families get settled in and the vegetation starts to bloom, we expect Tangelo Quarters will set a precedent for approaching new healthy thriving communities in the Lower Rio Grande Valley.
Last month, the Housing Authority of the City of Brownsville hosted a Ribbon Cutting ceremony to commemorate the opening. During the event, every family received the opportunity to cut the ribbon of their new home. There was also live music and food to celebrate the families and all the collaborators that made this project possible. It was a great event -- and we were happy to be in attendance to help welcome new residents home to Tangelo Quarters!
Scroll through the photos below to check out the site and see some of its residents.
Read our earlier post from Tangelo Quarters construction.
Affordability is a challenge for large cities and small towns alike. Learn about how we’re helping the Woodlands Development Group with a plan for workforce housing in the mountain town of Davis, WV!
Read MoreDesign Associate Luis Murillo works on Casitas Azucar in [bc]’s Brownsville office
We are excited to announce that in partnership with the Community Development Corporation of Brownsville (CDCB) we have designed a new multifamily development in the city of Santa Rosa, TX. The project consists of 50 detached single-family dwellings and also includes a community room, office, laundry room, playground area and barbecue pavilions as site amenities.
This large development, called Casitas Azucar, will significantly increase the share of affordable rental housing in Santa Rosa -- a rural community with just under 3,000 residents.
The design concept was driven by Santa Rosa’s rural environment and its historic, industrial buildings. Each unit type in the development follows a simple scheme which gave our design team the opportunity to focus on the creation and articulation of green space -- a key ingredient to healthy communities.
We increased green space per family through strategic placement of each unit and the use of modular arbor structures which were articulated to enhance the garden and patio space for each habitant. By treating every unit type uniquely to its location in the site, we were able to highlight green space and create a cohesive design that carries throughout the patio spaces. These strategies result in green spaces full of trees which are used as an extension of the family’s home, representing a continuation of each dwelling’s interior living space.
When families and individuals can spend time at home comfortably both indoors and outdoors, their quality of life stands to improve. Ultimately, our goal for Casitas Azucar is to increase the opportunity for community by addressing public and private green spaces -- to give everyone the opportunity to enjoy them how they wish. Stay tuned for more updates from this exciting development!
![Design Associate Luis Murillo works on Casitas Azucar in [bc]’s Brownsville office](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5248ebd5e4b0240948a6ceff/1552404070876-XO8230ACNGY30W9G9922/luis_drawing.jpg)
