AQUARIUS-GLOUCESTER

The site of the former Ocean View Inn and Resort which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, is now a complex residential development which integrates historic restoration and contemporary functionality, generous single family living and elegant multifamily housing.  Aquarius is now 17 residential units overlooking the rocky shoreline on Atlantic Avenue in Gloucester, MA.  
Twin Light Manor (now known as Ocean View) was completed in 1908.  At risk of demolition, restoration of this home was the first phase of this development project.  A hybrid of Queen Anne and Shingle styles, Oceana (as it is now called) received the Gloucester Historical Commission’s Preservation Award in 2019.
Complementing Oceana are (2) two- family homes, (1) new single-family home and (2) multifamily rows of townhomes.  All buildings are carefully sited to connect each unit, via views, decks and patios, to the wealth of surrounding nature – the seascape and the ample conservation land. Greenspace on this 380,000sf lot was protected in several design strategies, including locating associated parking within one of the townhome buildings.  
Success of this project depended upon collaboration between the design teams, the neighbors and town officials.  Unanimous approval was given by  the city council for a design which balanced neighborhood view corridors with density and volume.