The architectural team collaborated with the family to design a mixed-use, multi-family housing solution, the Nelson Glass House. The project converts the ground floor workshop into retail space and adds three stories of apartments above – resulting in a total of 11,000 SF – while retaining the building’s nostalgic steel and brick aesthetic and industrial character.

The existing Neo-classical Victorian plan house attached helps to visually mediate the transition between residential and commercial zones. With a total of six 1 to 2-bedroom apartment units, one of which meets affordable housing requirements, the new residential floors step back from the street to maintain the view corridor established by the existing buildings and their porches and minimize the visual impact of their height. These step-backs are then engaged as outdoor terraces for the apartments, taking advantage of expansive views of the town – and rising to meet the Central Business District’s scale in the rear.

Designed to LEED Silver Guidelines, the high ceilings, large windows, and balcony doors allow natural light and air into the units, giving them a bright and open feel. The interior materials connect to the building’s industrial history through brick accents folding into the spaces, balanced by wood cabinets, white oak floors, and bronze light fixtures.

The ground floor industrial space was converted into a café with a new roll-up door, allowing the former driveway to serve as an outdoor patio. In the back, a second retail space currently holds a private cigar club.