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 we solved it

The key was sequencing. We developed a phased construction plan that allowed the family to remain safely in their home while work progressed around them. We 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.

Have a project like this?

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

Schedule a free 15 minute call View all projects