HomeMy WebLinkAbout04 ProjectNarrative&ContextProject Narrative & Context
Project Summary
This project involves the demolition of a historically non-contributing house followed by the redevelopment
of a 9,835 square foot lot. The proposed structure will be a 5 dwelling apartment building comprised of 3
levels with a maximum height of 45’6”. The building will contain (3) 1,473 square foot 2-bedroom
dwellings, (1) 2,230 square foot 3-bedrroom dwelling, and (1) 455 square foot dwelling. Parking will be
provided in 2-stall attached garages with additional on-street parking on 8th Avenue and Alderson St.
There will be a total of 8 off-street parking spaces and 6 on-street spaces.
The demolition and construction will be performed by local construction company CP Build, LLC.
Construction is slated to begin Fall 2022 and final occupancy by Spring 2023.
Context
Location
The project is located on the corner of W. Alderson St. and 8th Avenue, one block away from the MSU
campus boundary and the Cooper Park Historic District. The neighborhood consists of mixture of non-
historic and historic single and multifamily homes to the southwest and northeast, Irving Elementary School
immediately to the north, and the Christus Collegium campus to the east.
Site
The property is 75’ North to South and 131’ East to West with frontages on W. Alderson St. and South 8th
Avenue and alley access on the west property boundary. There is currently a 50’/60’s era ranch style
home on the property which according to the Montana Historical and Architectural Inventory survey “…is
an intrusive element within a potential historic.” There is a mixture deciduous and coniferous trees of
varying health and size within the property boundary. There are large street trees on the 8th Avenue
frontage and no street trees on the Alderson frontage. The trees within the property will be removed for
redevelopment with a new landscape and tree plan in situ with the proposed project. The boulevard trees
will remain.
Design
The architectural design of the Alderson 5 is defined by simple gable forms reminiscent of pre-World War
architecture, directional expression of materials and exterior details, and symmetrical rhythm of windows
and entries. The focus is to create architecture that represents its time and place while being responsive to
its context “within a potential historic district.”
The massing and scale strategy begin at the site level, by first complying with required setbacks,
coverages, building heights, and frontages and alleys. From here the mass is defined and broken up into
varying forms that rise 3 stories, then top out with 14/12 pitched cross gables. The mass is then subtracted
by an ordering of light gathering windows, covered balconies, and welcoming entries.
The façade follows a traditional layering of cladding, while making use of contemporary building
materials. The first story is visually established on the exterior by dark gray vertical board and batten
cladding and trims that anchors the building to the street level. A balanced stacking of divided light
windows and entries create balanced rhythm up and down and side to side along the building’s elevations,
bringing the inside out and the outside in. Bookending the east and west elevations are chimney vertical
chimneys extending from grade to the top of the building.