Richmond Great Point Development LLC, Meadows II - Phase 1

Award Criteria

Architectural Excellence

The island of Nantucket is designated a National Historic Landmark with inhabitants and visitors who cherish the unique style and cultural history of the island. As the anchor of the island's economy, the tourism and resort industries require a year-round work force; however, affordable and accessible housing for this workforce is in critically short supply. This project was developed to meet this demand, providing residents of Nantucket with quality rental housing. The Nantucket Historic District Commission, the local design review board tasked with preserving the unique architectural vernacular of the island, requires all new construction to adhere to a series of strict design guidelines. Designs must meet strict height restrictions, orientation guidelines, and material selections, including a steeply raked shingle roof, cedar shake exterior, and divided-lite windows to maintain the historic character of Nantucket.

Technical Innovation & Sustainability

The Meadows II (Phase I) Apartments Development Project required an intricately detailed logistics plan. Each building module was trucked 350 miles from our Moosic, PA manufacturing facility to New Bedford, MA. From there, the modules were shipped, four at a time, via barge over 60 miles of open ocean. Barges must be accomplished between 6 AM and 7 AM according to a tightly Nantucket-regulated schedule. Once offloaded, the three-mile route to the project site required police escort. New construction on Nantucket must be engineered to withstand 140 MPH wind-load. While no home is “hurricane-proof,” systems-built housing often outperforms standard residential framing under intense coastal wind conditions. In all, SBS fabricated and erected over 90% of the sill-plate up portion of the project.

Cost Effectiveness

The community of Nantucket is heavily engaged in servicing the tourism and resort industry, however, on-Island building trade professionals are limited. Tradesmen, when required, often travel from the mainland to Nantucket via high-speed ferry. This commute requires two hours daily. As a result of these challenges, The Richmond Company, Inc. chose to utilize off-site construction to bring the craftmanship of modular fabrication to this remote location while greatly reducing the amount of required on-site work. This has proven to be particularly advantageous to our clients who have achieved an estimated 30% cost reduction while achieving a 50% faster time-to-market by utilizing SBS's modular construction system.