Riverview Addition

Full Service Architecture · Residential Addition · Completed

Riverview Addition

Renovation and addition to a 1790s home on a constrained suburban lot — with the owners living in the house the entire time.

Location

Salem, MA

Type

Addition & Renovation

Status

Completed

Key Constraints

SOE, tight suburban lot, ZBA, occupied construction

The challenge

This 1790s home sat on a tight suburban lot in Salem, MA that required support of excavation — more commonly seen in commercial construction — just to safely dig the foundation for the addition. Add zoning approvals, neighbor coordination, and a family that needed to stay in the house throughout the entire construction process, and the logistics alone made this project unusually demanding for a residential scope.

How I solved it

The key was sequencing. I developed a phased construction plan that allowed the family to remain safely in their home while work progressed around them. I managed the SOE requirements, secured zoning approvals, and kept the project moving without disrupting the family's daily life.

The result

Commercial-scale site complexity. Residential project. Family stayed home throughout.

A multi-story residential house with shingle siding, front porch, white picket fence, and a small garden.
Before
View of a lake from a wooden balcony with lounge chairs and a small blue table, trees without leaves, parked cars, and a partly cloudy blue sky.
Modern kitchen with dark blue cabinets, white island, wooden barstools, stainless steel appliances, and pendant lighting.
Construction site with a house undergoing foundation work, a worker standing on the wooden framework, and a large crane truck nearby.
Bedroom with blue walls, three windows, a bed with pink and beige bedding, a pink tufted bench at the foot, a black nightstand with a lamp, a mirror leaning against the wall, and a ceiling fan.
Modern kitchen with navy blue cabinets, white countertops, wooden bar stools, pendant lights, and sliding glass doors leading to an outdoor patio.
A three-story house with a black wooden exterior on the middle floor, beige siding on the lower and upper floors, and multiple windows. The top floor has a balcony with black railing.
Modern kitchen with navy blue cabinets, a white island with a potted plant, stainless steel appliances, a black and white geometric backsplash, pendant lighting, and wooden stools.
Bright empty attic room with white walls, carpeted floor, a gray sofa, a small black side table, a gray ottoman, windows, a ceiling fan, and a TV mounted on the wall.
A bathroom with a white shower curtain, vintage bathtub with fixtures, white toilet, pedestal sink, and a mirror on a white tiled wall with wall-mounted light fixtures.
A yellow Komatsu excavator moving dirt on a construction site with residential houses in the background.
Construction site with foundation walls and rebar prepared for concrete pouring, wooden formwork in place, exposed soil, and construction tools, in a backyard.

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Complex sites, difficult permits, projects that require more than a standard approach — that's exactly where I work best.

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