ICON Architecture

Overlook Terrace transforms an obsolete 15-acre public housing site into a leading-edge, sustainable, TOD 331-unit affordable residential community.  Guided by two years of community meetings, the new site plan reclaims open space and creates “rightsized” healthy homes. The heart of this re-connected community will be the central green, a lushly landscaped open space for families to gather and grow. The 331 public housing residents are rehoused in high-performing, energy-efficient, gracious, and sustainable lowrise and midrise buildings, arrayed across this hillside site. Rhythmic stoops along the streetscapes and terraced outdoor meeting spaces create a new image for this visible location just north of Boston. The total build-out includes three four-story midrise buildings, nine townhouse buildings, and seven renovated rowhouse buildings, constructed in three phases.

The first phase comprises 120 homes and achieved LEED Platinum level compliance. Phase Two (88 units, LEED Gold) residents moved into their new homes in the summer of 2020. The third and final phase of the project includes a mix of new construction buildings and the modernization of existing masonry rowhouses. The central green and streetscape improvements on Faywood Avenue and Vallar Road will complete the sitework. All three phases are certified through Enterprise Green Communities. The new buildings highlight UPVC triple-glazed windows, super-insulated exterior walls, south-facing PV-ready roofs, and highly-efficient, all-electric VRF/ERV systems to assure healthy living and reduce carbon emissions.