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Bob Vila shows the original façade work and wrought-iron details on this 1870s Brownstone that has been converted to apartments on New York's Upper West Side.
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Profiling New York City and Cape Cod, Bob Vila's Home Again will show two very different housing projects in the second half of this 25th anniversary season.
The first show finds us in Manhattan where Bob joins his son Chris Vila to rejuvenate an Upper West Side Brownstone that was originally constructed as a very high-end, single-family home in New York City. Bob looks at the materials and features that characterize Manhattan Brownstones, then walks us through a single floor of the building that was formerly two separate apartments boxed out during the 1940s. Bob identifies period details that remain in the building, including original wrought-iron doors, and mourns the loss of details that once existed in these homes that featured the highest quality workmanship available.
Architect Brian O'Keefe joins Bob and Chris to review the plans to reconvert the two apartments to a single-floor apartment, bring light, open up space, and redefine living areas in a 21st century urban home. The plan is to create the sleek and chic urban look so desired today. However, the building catches up with them as demolition reveals the very bones and character of the place. Original cornices are discovered under drop ceilings, joist work is exposed, and the butchering of original work is revealed through layers of deconstruction.
A decision is made to follow the context of the building, to keep the cornices and highlight them, to use wood flooring that suggests the floors that once graced the apartment, to reconnect the fireplace and search out an antique mantel, and to have an eye to the finishes that are representative of the high-quality work that characterized the building in the first place. Plasterers are brought on site rather than sheetrockers. Joists are sistered to build them back up and make them level. Throughout the project Bob meets tradespeople who function more like craftspeople than mere installers. This is fitting for a building on the Upper West Side that sits on the doorstep of historic Central Park. Visiting the park, its treasures, and upkeep schedule brings to mind the history and fabric of New York and this neighborhood
The project in Mashpee, Massachusetts takes a very different look at house and home, this time as a community response to a housing shortage that is pricing working families out of their own communities. Mashpee, an area where the average home price is $450,000 with few or no single-family homes available for under $300,000, is responding to the need for diverse housing opportunities in a number of ways. Bob visits Mashpee Commons, the ongoing development of a town-centered planned development that will feature all aspects of residential, commercial, community, civic, and religious building when complete.
Beyond the town center, Bob looks at land development and building, which has been constrained by zoning laws requiring two-acre parcels per housing unit. Bob is joined by developer Joe Valle who seized the opportunity to bypass the ordinance and construct a mix of affordable and market housing at River Hill, by invoking Massachusetts' Act 40B, the Massachusetts land use law that states 3 percent of a town's development must be dedicated to affordable housing.
Once qualified, Valle was able to use a 4.5 acre parcel of land that was ill-suited to development as two-acre lots and instead developed them as a neighborhood of 11 homes, four of which are affordable by definition and will be sold by lottery to qualified buyers. The homeowners will select from three designs—ranch, cape, and colonial—and will have the same building materials and finishes as the market homes located in the neighborhood. Due to increased density, River Hill will be able to function as a neighborhood with winding streets, accessible house fronts, and adjacent backyards. The homes will all be Energy Star certified for efficiency, with a focus on materials that make for easy maintenance and upkeep. The Cape Cod story will look at all aspects of affordability from building, to purchase, to upkeep, to sustainable communities in Massachusetts and as it pertains to the rest of the country.
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Manhattan Remodel & Cape Cod Affordable - 
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