ICON Architecture

Overlook Terrace transformed an obsolete 15-acre public housing site into a leading-edge, sustainable,  331-unit affordable residential community, informed by two years of community discussion.  The heart of this re-connected community is the central green, a lushly landscaped open space for families to gather and grow. The public housing residents are rehoused in high-performing, energy-efficient, gracious, and sustainable low-rise and mid-rise 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 mid-rise buildings, nine townhouse buildings, and seven modernized rowhouse buildings: 

• Phase One comprises 120 apartments in 5 new buildings, achieving LEED Platinum, complete in 2018.  
• Phase Two consists of 88 apartments in 3 new buildings, achieving LEED Gold, complete in 2020. This phase at the center of the site includes the Community meeting room, Food Pantry, and play area.  
• Phase Three creates 123 apartments in a new construction midrise, 3 rowhouse buildings, and the modernization of 42 existing rowhouses in 7 buildings, complete in 2023.  The modernization achieved LEED certifiable status for O&M, while the new construction buildings achieved LEED Gold. 

All buildings achieved Enterprise Green Communities certifiability, and a 738 kW-DC solar PV array has been installed across 12 buildings to offset common electrical utility costs. 

Improvements to public infrastructure create a total of almost 4,000 linear feet of improved public streets, including widened sidewalks, new trees, additional parking, lighting and signage. The one-acre public park offers a range of open spaces for neighbors to gather, walking paths, play spaces, and a new bus stop, truly the center of the reimagined community.