Broad Avenue Mixed-Use
The Broad Avenue Mixed-Use project is comprised of rental apartments, live-work rental units, commercial property, and ample community space. The site lies on the north side of the vibrant and eclectic Broad Avenue, which runs down the heart of the Broad Avenue Arts District. This street was once the main street of Binghamton, a railroad town chartered in 1895 and annexed by Memphis in 1919. A one-story derelict midcentury factory, which has been covered in lively murals over time, will be razed to make way for the new development. In the new design, solid portions of the ground floor retail will become blank canvases for muralists to re-create the ad hoc exuberance of the existing art.
The design contains two dominant elements – a four-level, L-shaped series of buildings set at street level and a continuous, snaking four-level building behind that is one level lower in elevation. Rather than emphasize the exterior shell of the two buildings, the space in between buildings is charged with bold colors and community programs. Each portion building has one geometric subtraction that creates these colorful public spaces.
The L-shaped series of buildings, rendered in a sequence of grays, is modified in elevation with over-scaled cubic voids that become community porches backed by colorful, dilated wood screens along the main circulation path. The other building is shaped by a plan modulation where two portions of the building are diagrammatically shifted, thus creating two courtyards and two lawn spaces. The two courtyards receive a similar color pallet as the community porches and contain attractions such as an existing water tower and a community pool. A landscaped parking lot and linear dog walk lawn are situated behind the building opposite the street.
The design team hopes through pedestrian activity, built frontage, and community-driven space this development will restore the historic Broad Avenue to prominence and retain the ad-hoc energy of the arts district over the past few decades. Construction is slated to begin mid-2019.
