Hotel Miramar Conversion

In partnership with CitySquare Housing, [bc] has been working on the conversion of the Hotel Miramar at 1950 Fort Worth Ave in Dallas into permanent supportive housing.

Built around 1953, the design is typical of the motels that were popular during that era. When this project is complete, it will comprise at least 40 units, each with a bedroom, bathroom, and kitchenette. Services will also be provided on-site, including case management, substance abuse assessment and support and employment assistance. Staff on-site will include a property manager, program manager, substance use specialist, employment specialist, outreach coordinator, and case manager.

Stay tuned for more from this project!

Miramar Motel in its heyday

Hotel Miramar at 1950 Fort Worth Ave

Samano Update

Along with cdcb, we recently had a pre-construction tour of Samano Studios & Armand's Grocery in Brownsville. This renovation is transforming the turn-of-the-century Samano Building in historic downtown Brownsville into permanent supportive housing studio apartments, office spaces, a grocery store and a coffee shop.

Folks at the pre-construction tour got a sneak peek of the current state of the building as well as what’s in store for the historic structure. Check out these renderings that Alison designed of the future space:

Samano exterior

View of grocery store corner entry for Samano Building from E 12th Street.

Grocery Store

The grocery store design focuses on highlighting the historic architecture of the building while providing an essential amenity to the community.

Multipurpose Space

The second floor is designed to support residents through community spaces that create opportunities for thoughtful programming. This multi purpose flex space is where the residents and the staff can come together as a community for events and informal gatherings.

Residential Unit

Residential units are designed to be both cozy and durable.

Welcome Back, Alison!

We are happy to announce that Alison Katz is back at [bc]! In 2018, Alison was a bcINTERN in the Houston office where she found her passion for housing while working on the Houston RAPIDO Prototype. This interest continued in Pittsburgh where Alison joined the Urban Design Build Studio to develop a replicable housing model called RE_CON designed to redistribute equity to low-income residents of gentrifying neighborhoods.

Alison is joining Donald Hickman in our Houston office, where she will support design efforts across all [bc] offices. Read more about her here.

Aside from her work, Alison loves punk music and is looking forward to checking out the scene in Houston. Help us give her a warm welcome back to [bc]!

Rapido CORE Accessory Dwelling Unit

We have developed a series of accessory dwelling units (ADUs), exploring different outdoor design layouts that allow for adaptation and flexibility of placement in multiple lot configurations. All of our ADU designs utilize [bc]'s RAPIDO CORE, a disaster recovery housing modular unit, designed for durable and fast rehousing post disaster.  Check out more information about this initiative and the details for each ADU design option at [bc]'s People's Design Library.

There are many reasons a property owner would want to invest in a RAPIDO ADU: disaster preparedness, temporary housing during repairs or reconstruction, increase affordable units in the city and provide extra income to homeowners.  

These structures can be built quickly using standard materials and construction methods and are designed on raised platforms in order to avoid damage from flooding. A RAPIDO ADU can also be used as a safe house during a storm, especially if your home sustains serious damage. Because RAPIDO COREs can be built quickly,  the ADU can act as temporary housing and allow homeowners whose houses are in need of repairs to remain on their property while their home is repaired or rebuilt. ADUs are also often rented out to individuals, and this extra structure can give the homeowner an extra source of income once they have returned to their repaired home. 

Hurricane Harvey Disaster Recovery Community Engagement

As Houston moves from relief to long term recovery, the City is preparing a plan for the $1.2 billion that will be received from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in the fall. In order for this money to be spent in the most useful and effective way, the Housing and Community Development Department (HCDD) partnered with local community organizations, super neighborhood councils, City Council districts, and civic clubs to organize 17 public meetings to assess housing and recovery needs and priorities in Houston.  [bc] and the Community Design Resource Center (CDRC) designed interactive work sessions to better engage diverse communities in Houston and build the department's capacity to facilitate and implement community engagement activities as part of their programs. A summary of the findings from these meetings as well as the Houston local action plan were publicly released by the HCDD on June 26, 2018.

These community meetings took place in various neighborhoods and engaged over 800 people. At these meetings, surveys were collected in order to track people’s personal circumstances and needs since Harvey, but the majority of the discussions were aimed at talking about their neighborhoods as a whole. This neighborhood-level feedback was documented through a round-robin discussion format and mapping exercises.  Residents also had the opportunity to prioritize housing and infrastructure programs for which the CDBG-DR funds could be used.

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We look forward to continuing to work with the City of Houston to engage diverse communities!

Welcome Alison!

We are excited to welcome Alison Katz, our Houston bcINTERN this summer!

Alison is from Saratoga Springs, NY and currently pursuing a Bachelor of Architecture from Carnegie Mellon University as part of the class of 2020. You can read more about Alison here. 

Alison has been supporting our RAPIDO work in Houston. This summer, she will be working on marketing for upcoming projects, as well as assisting with community meetings that are happening here in Houston regarding the local needs and priorities for recovery since Harvey.

Alison says, "So far, my experience at [bc] has been really eye opening. Houston is a new city to me, and talking to people who have lost everything because of Harvey has been really impactful. In a short amount of time I have learned a lot about the way policy has specifically affected the way the city has recovered (or not) from the hurricane, and the ways community centers are advocating for people in need."

Welcome bcINTERNs!

This summer, for the first time ever, [bc] will host an intern in each of its 4 offices.

Our Summer 2018 bcINTERNs are:

• Dallas Office: Ucha Abbah

Ucha is currently pursuing a Master of Urban and Environmental Planning from the University of Virginia. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Human Rights and Environmental Studies from Southern Methodist University.

• RGV Office: Sara Taketatsu

Sara is working on her Bachelor of Environmental Design, specialization in architecture, at the University of Colorado Boulder.

• Houston Office: Alison Katz

Alison is pursuing a Bachelor of Architecture from Carnegie Mellon University.

• Washington, DC Office: Lilith Winkler-Schor

Lilith is a recent graduate of Tulane University with a Bachelor of Arts in Social Policy and Practice, Political Science and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fine and Studio Arts.

We are excited to welcome these four new interns to our team! Follow the links to their bio pages to learn more about them and what they'll be working on this summer!