Folks, this one is going to be fun…

Although not much larger than a postage stamp, this lot in the heart of historical Lockerbie Place (downtown Indianapolis) will be the site of a new ReDev project.  It truly is one of the last lots remaining in this historical and very nice neighborhood.  Many of the streets in this area are brick or cobblestone and the sidewalks are brick pavers.  The residents all do a beautiful job with keeping up their homes, landscaping and streets.  Needless to say, there was a bit of distress in the neighborhood when we first presented our plans to build on this lot over three months ago.  If you have been reading my blog for some time you will remember that I had some trouble with the neighbors when building my own home.  Well, my personal experience looks like a picnic compared to the approvals we had to go through to get our permits for this project.  However, in the end, the process laid out by the IHPC (historical governing body for this area) offered a good venue for our clients and those concerned about the new project.

Above is a picture of the lot.  It is at the corner of the historical “Lockerbie Street” (the street of James Whitcome Riley’s historical home) and Park Avenue.  Granite curbs, brick walks, a cobblestone street, tight parking, close neighbors and a nesting falcon (long story…) are only a couple things about this site that will make this site, um…  interesting to build on.  At minimum, it will make for some entertaining blogs for the readers.

This is a modeled view at the corner of Lockerbie Street & Park Avenue with the approved home shown completed.  The model is only meant to show massing and scale as we generally do not add color or too much detail at this stage of the design.  Thanks to our architect partner on this project who does a really nice job with 3D modeling for our clients.

So, we have our approvals and permits.  Now the fun begins.  Note that the above pictures and model below really does not show just how small this parcel of ground is.  The lot is 40′x62′ – the size of some suburban driveways, or perhaps even smaller.  The home is 12″ from the north property line and a total of 24″ from the sidewalk.  That means closing down that walk, taking up the brick pavers, storing them and putting them back as soon as possible.  The tightness and proximity also raises problems with constructability and access.  However, our company has been building in tight urban areas for almost 12 years now and we can handle this just fine.  It also helps this project is literally 5 blocks from the office so we can keep trades and vendors accountable and in line following our requests regarding parking, access and clean up.

Not Dead or Out of Business…

Its been a while, eh?  As the title suggests, I’m not dead and we are not out of business.  Quite the opposite, actually, as we have about 10 units (some multi-family some single family) coming out of the ground, between now and the end of the year, not to mention needing to finish up the several projects we currently have running now.  Future posts will be a quick summary and discussion of some notable projects (not all of them).  I will start with an update on one that has already been discussed on this blog – The “Historical Rehab” project in downtown Indy.

At the interior the MEP’s are fully complete, the home is insulated and the drywall is being finished.  When we first started working on this home the blower door was not even able to depressurize the home at 25 pascal!  That means the home was really, really leaky…  and hence, very inefficient with how it heated and cooled.  Once complete I think it will test out nicely with a respectable ACH for a rehab project.  This home is also following all Energy Star criteria and I expect it to be 5+ Stars (the highest level attainable).

This is a historic home that was fully gutted and the exterior largely redone as well.   See the earlier post for before and historical pictures.  The exterior is going well and a new porch is about 90% constructed.  The windows still are not delivered (much to my disdain) but are expected next week.  Once those are installed, the exterior work can continue nicely and the interior work will be served by much nicer lighting for the workers, which is important as we get into the interior trims and finishes.

This is and interior shot showing the main living, dining & circulation areas.  In the center of the picture is a double sided fireplace inserted into a wall that does not go all the way up to the ceiling.  It serves as a partition between the Living and Dining rooms but still allows light and views to extend into the adjacent spaces.  The client and the architect both liked this idea from the start.  Once, the home was gutted, we marked this assembly out to ensure we got the size and positioning right.

Shown above are the structural wood (GluLam) beam and steel support posts.  As you might imagine, the original home had lots of smaller rooms that cut up the space.  We removed all those walls and displaced the entire 2nd floor load on to these beams and posts.  Not an easy detail to pull off but what a huge difference it makes to how the spaces feel.  The wood will be sanded, stained and finished.  The steel posts will be left the raw color and simply clear coated for protection from rust. 

More – and more often – updates soon.  I promise!

Rehab Project

We have a couple new projects underway, some of which are from our new “Dwell Smart Indy” line of homes that I posted about earlier.  However, below are some pictures of another project we have going in the downtown area.  This home is a historical, single family residence that needs some serious work.  The client will be required to keep the historical exterior, but the interior will be turned into a much more contemporary aesthetic.

Our company got its start on “rehab” projects over ten years ago.  The market shifted to higher end, new, custom homes but we still know how to do these rehab projects and enjoy the challenge.  See below for some historical, before and progress pictures.

Above is a picture that the historical society found.  It is certainly one of the stranger patterns of fenestration that I have seen, but the photo was a big help in working through the issues with the various historical groups that govern these projects & areas.

Here is how the home appeared before we started work.  Aluminum siding had been installed at the exterior, Insulbrick under that, and finally the old wood siding (and some trims) below that layer.  Lots of fun, eh?  The windows had all been replaced with non-historic (and inappropriate) vinyl or aluminum windows.  The porch (compared to the above photo) had been significantly changed some years before as well, and was in really bad shape.

The interior was fully gutted so that we could install new windows, doors, insulation, MEP’s and other finishes.  There wasn’t much worth saving at the interior as the home had been divided into several apartments back in the 60’s &/or 70’s.  Floors were leveled, new interior walls constructed and the floor plan was opened up much more from the traditional  (four walls) rooms that were so normal for a home of this age.

One of the interior items that was retained is the staircase.  I will make sure to post some pictures of how this is treated with the other finishes.

Here is the exterior of the home after the aluminum siding, insulbrick and porch were removed.  The sidings were in better shape than first thought, but we will still need to replace around 50% of the materials.  100% of the windows and doors will be new for better energy efficiency and considering that the existing units were in such poor condition and of poor quality.

I will post regularly on this an other jobs.  This project will be an “Energy Star” rated home, once complete, and offer the owner much improved utility bills.  I will make sure and detail some of those changes and strategies as we move forward.

Final Pics of “Personal Home” Project…

I started blogging about my own personal home project back in November of last year.  The intent was to follow the process that our company uses and show a project running through that process from start to finish.  Well, I have been in the home for about 5 months now and have been posting finish pictures of the spaces as they are completed & furnished.  The following rooms are not fully completed/furnished but I am showing them anyway…

Above you can see a picture of the main “Live” area with the “Play” space behind.  These rooms are up one half-level from the Kitchen, Dine & Hearth areas that I posted earlier.  The “Live” space is used daily for informal living and also is where the TV is.  Right now my daughter uses the play area for art projects and reading books.  However, as she gets older, I see this space turning into a small reading “Library” area, a game area or something else.  The space was designed to be flexible.

This picture is a closer view of the “Play” area.  I also had some boxes made (middle, right side of the pic), that slide under the bench area, and hold a bunch of toys, books and stuff.  A bit of organization for those items that are hard to organize, you know?  The boxes were made of oak and have the same floor finishapplied to them so they blend in with the surrounding materials.  The main uncompleted item in this room is the acrylic screen that will be placed in the opening above the bench (right side of the pic).  The screen will have a phrase from a poem cut into it which will be visible from both the Play and Kitchen area of the home.  It should be a really cool feature when complete.  My architect is actually doing that work for me as he has a CNC machine in his basement on which to fabricate the panels.  Also unfinished is the cushion for on top of the bench seat.  Once that is complete, along with the screen, this area should turn out to be a fun spot to curl up with a book or just relax. 

The above picture is taken while standing in the “Play” space and looking back out into the living room.  Here you can see the same window pattern repeating that was used in the master bedroom.  It also offers really nice views of the wooded lot beyond.  You have probably noticed, but there are not any window coverings on most of the windows, including this one.  Window treatments were only used at the bedrooms.  I prefer that look to keep the views unobstructed and the interior lines of the trim nice and clean.  

Here you can see a shot of the white oak wood floors with the Rubio Floor Finish and the trees beyond.  The natural appearance of the floors, in this setting, is exactly what I had hoped for – natural, beautiful and comfortable.  I hope you agree.

Since this is one of the last posts on my personal home, very soon my blog will be shifting to focus on other Re-Development Group projects, the performance of the projects we complete, green construction techniques and cool design solutions.  I still plan on posting some updates on how my home is actually performing versus how it was modeled/planned.  Also, once my LEED-H paperwork is complete (finally! I’m still waiting…) I will post an update on that as well. 

Any and all feedback is appreciated.  Click on “about” for my contact information if you have questions or comments you do not want to post on the blog.

New product line…

We here at The ReDevelopment Group have been working on some new product lines.  The idea is to build a quality home, with some nice architectural details, some green features and a contemporary feeling – all for a reasonable price.  Can it be done?  You tell me.  While a work in progress, check out our new products at a site we just put together…  www.dwellsmartindy.com  

Let me know what you think.  Any feedback on the site, the pricing & the product would be greatly appreciated!