The Marston Building

The Marston
Building

The Marston Building

Mixed Use: Commercial/Residential

Built in 1889, this Victorian-era Italianate building was vacant for 30 years in the historic district of downtown Lowell. Originally designed for offices, the project required repurposing the four-story building for retail and residential use by transforming the upper three floors into housing and restoring the street level for commercial use. The brick, granite and wood building required a complete gut and the addition of anew stair for a second means of egress. Restoration of the street level’s cast-iron and glass storefronts required coordination with the city regarding the historical nature of the property while also adding other means of egress for modern retail use.

ACS developed the residential areas of the Marston Building to be organized from the center out with kitchens, utility core, stairs and bathrooms collected at the center of each floor. This enabled ACS to maximize the building’s strongest feature: large windows with generous natural light that flooded the living spaces of each unit.