The month of October signaled the beginning of construction that will result in the June 1998 completion of a brand new residential addition to the Tenney-Lapham Neighborhood. Dayton Hill Condominiums, as this new housing project is called, is an eight unit condo project being jointly developed by Sveum Realtors & McGrath Associates.

Dayton Hill Condominiums will contain four 2-bedroom, 2-bath units; two 1-bedroom, 1-bath units; and two "loft" units. The two story building will have two 2-bedroom units and two 1-bedroom units per floor. Included within the building envelope will be underground bicycle and automobile parking and trash and recycling storage.

Ed Linville of Linville Designs who was the architect for the project stated in an interview that the exterior finish scheme was chosen to provide a rhythm that would match the neighborhood. He said the color palette was conceived to provide an "elegance and softness to the building." "I didn't want to create a painted lady for the neighborhood," stated Linville. On the interior, he described finishes that will be a mix of painted and natural wood tones. "I was not trying to create a series of clones," said Linville as he talked about his attempt to mirror the interiors that might typically be found around the neighborhood. He also stated that a presale option for buyer chosen finishes would be available.

In a conversation with Todd McGrath of McGrath Associates, it was pointed out that the developers and the architect felt that the natural attributes of the site were an important component to the design. Of particular interest were the mature hardwood trees fronting the property along Dayton Street. The desire to make the site "work" and preserve as much of the site as feasible resulted in the developers and the architect working through a number of design concepts.

From the idea of a single family type design to a plan for two parallel lines of "row houses" with a center vehicle courtyard to the final two story building with on-site underground parking, each concept was evaluated to find the design that would work best within the context of the neighborhood and the economic constraints of the project. Another key concern was a design that would easily lend itself to the concept of accessibility, something that the final design does quite satisfactorily according to the architect. Prices for the units will range from $113,000 for the first floor one bedroom units to $160,000 for the second floor two bedroom units.

David Mandehr