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Pyatok Architects designs award-winning buildings for families, students, and seniors in affordable and market-rate developments. |
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REHAB OR REPLACE? |
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As funding for new affordable housing developments continues to be scarce, our nonprofit clients are reminding us that rehabilitation remains a viable and, at times, better approach to creating affordable homes. In fact, rehabilitating urban properties is one of the best ways for affordable housing developers to meet their triple bottom line by adding economic, social, and environmental value to every project they do. PreservationHistorically, rehabilitation has been thought of as "preservation" - preserving distinctive architectural works and culturally notable places. Our recent work at The Altenheim in Oakland is an example of this – preserving and enriching a senior campus originally built in 1908. Pyatok's improvements in 2005 for Citizen's Housing Corporation conscientiously preserved the 100-year-old character of the buildings, inside and out, while preparing it for another century of service to the neighborhood. RevitalizationToday, developers and city redevelopment agencies see rehabilitation as an economic boon to neighborhoods for three reasons. First, rehabbing a structure usually costs less than demolishing a project and starting from scratch. Second, rehabbing is usually faster than rebuilding, allowing the property to earn income sooner than a new development would. Third, restoring existing properties revitalizes not just those buildings but the surrounding neighborhood as a whole, as neighbors celebrate the transformation by investing in their own properties with renewed enthusiasm.. The city of Hayward, CA has seen this kind of impact at the Lord Tennyson development. Originally constructed in the late 1960s, Volunteers of America renovated the entire 15-acre, 252-unit complex from top to bottom with the help of Pyatok Architects. From energy-saving windows to upgraded electrical systems, new roofing and a new community building, Lord Tennyson became a source of pride for the neighborhood and an example of how what was old can become newly valuable and valued. SustainabilityLooking forward, a primary reason to rehabilitate rather than rebuild is sustainability. Saving resources, reducing energy use, and creating healthier living environments are critical goals for developing the cities of the near-future. Rehabbing properties reaches these goals in three ways. Often, it increases the housing density of an area and uses valuable land more efficiently than before (The Altenheim doubled its capacity to 174 units). Rehabbing existing structures mean less waste and embodied energy going to landfills, less raw materials needed for a project, and less construction energy needed to build it. And upgrading energy and water systems, plus reducing a development's environmental impact, means creating greener neighborhoods overall. Pyatok Architects has a long history of revitalizing places by rehabilitating housing and mixed-use developments. From our work on the first AIDS housing in the 1980s to the historic Swan's Marketplace in 2000 to our recent finishing touches on The Altenheim, we have helped enrich the economic, social and environmental value of every rehabilitation project we work on. Additional Rehab Projects
The Gateway: 140 units (Mid-Peninsula Housing Corp.) |
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Recent projects are located in California, Washington, Arizona, Hawaii, the Philippines, and Malaysia. |
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