1608 N Cleveland Street

Jul 12

The development involved replacing a 1939 Craftsman style detached residence in the historic neighborhood of Lyon Village in Arlington. The new Platinum level home brings the residence into the modern century with a fully custom kitchen, private bathrooms, primary suite, high performance building envelope, basement rentable in-law suite, and a new rooftop 17-panel 7.14 KW solar PV system.

Location
Lyon Village | Arlington, VA

Project Type
Residential - SFH + Basement Rental Unit

Project Scope
Replacement + Renovation

Year Complete
2023

Scale
3,860 gsf Residence + Rental Unit
660 gsf Accessory Structure

Budget
$ 420 per sf (Construction)

Energy Performance
37% savings (39.8 EUI >> 25 EUI)
20% GHC reduction (8.0 MT >> 6.4 MT)
EnergyStar Score Target: 76

AHJ Reviews
Arlington County - LDA, Zoning, Structural, MEP
BZA - Approved at first review

Construction Team
DANKE development (architect)
BCN Homes (builder)
Second Chance (deconstruction)
Green Donation Consultants
Mandy Cheng Design (interiors)
Winn Design-Build (interiors)
S Street Structural (structural)
Mt Everest Engineering LLC (civil)

Recreating a Modern Craftsman with Platinum Level Performance

Early in the planning stages for the renovation, our structural engineer performed a test pit to establish the original house’s foundation capacity. Unfortunately, we discovered there to be no spread footings and the foundation walls were not sound. This discovery ended our renovation plans due to the financial burden and time required having to underpin the entire structure’s foundation. In addition, the basement showed evidence of a high-water table under the existing slab that would need to be addressed while underpinning took place. The only feasible option was to replace the house with a new structure.

Replacement was more time intensive since BZA approval was required to rebuild the house on its original footprint. To complicate matters, the existing lot was very constrained due to its relation with the street and the boundary’s unique configuration, which of course was not compliant with the current Arlington County zoning ordinance.

Instead of sending the structure to the landfill, we donated the house’s materials to Second Chance, which provides onsite workforce development training. Their crew deconstructed the house by hand over a couple weeks saving materials + components for reuse or recycling. Green Donation Consultants photographed and catalogued all the elements identified as available for donation for our tax records.

The new house maintains the Craftsman character while providing modern high performance strategies to reduce operating costs; such as insulating the roof with R-55 foam to provide a conditioned attic for the electric heat pump. The floor plan takes advantage of the views of the neighborhood’s heritage trees and natural sunlight throughout the day.

The kitchen, which is the heart of the house, is open to allow it to engage with the rest of the spaces and connect the interior with views to the surrounding trees. Finishes were selected to enhance the views by bringing the natural shades and materials inside the spaces.

The property included a non-conforming 2-story accessory structure that was built in the 1990s. The previous owner was an architect, who used this as their conference room + office. Once the house is complete, this structure will be renovated to become DANKE’s studio with a conference room/neighborhood watering hole on the first floor. The roof is designed to accommodate 10 additional solar panels to bring the property’s total production up to 11.34 kW and further reduce its GHS to 5.8 metric tons.

Goals for the new residence include:

Replace the existing 1-story 1939 Craftsman style home with a new 2-story structure within the original’s footprint
Preserve historical details of the house + porch: including its cedar shingle front porch
New second floor with 3 bedroom + bath suites and laundry room with access to storage attic
Basement income property with 1-bedroom suite
Address stormwater management issues at the property with green roof, dry well + planter box
Platinum certification with Arlington County’s Green Home Choice (GHC) sustainability program