Above: Schematic sketch of the proposed new housing development and public park.  Below: Site features include bioretention basins, photovoltaics, and private patios; photos courtesy Oxbow Partners.

Located on a former Nike Missile site in Wayland, Massachusetts, 89 Oxbow provides sixteen units of affordable ownership housing for the town. Dodson Associates provided initial site analysis, schematic and design development plans; construction documents and specifications and construction observation. The plan addressed overall site design, materials, grading, drainage, planting, circulation and accessibility and visitability issues.

The new development uses one-third of the property, while the remaining two-thirds are designated for development as a public park. From the outset the design focused on creating a shared streetscape and central open space as the heart of the new development. Bioretention gardens, planted with a variety of native species, were designed and installed to cleanse site runoff and aid in infiltration. The ‘main street’ and three-unit buildings were oriented for efficient passive solar gain and photovoltaic panels were installed on the roofs of two of the buildings to supplement the development's electricity needs.

Project Website (http://www.89oxbow.com)