Herbert Newman and Partners named master planner for $100m revitalization project

Herbert S. Newman and Partners, PC has been selected by the Stamford Housing Authority as the master planner and architect for the design of 350 new residential units for low- and moderate-income working families and for market-rate households. The long-term, multi-site program will be constructed in several phases over the next six years at an estimated cost of $100 million. The first phase, a 50-unit site located at 58 Progress Dr., is now underway. The Vidal Court revitalization plan calls for the replacement of 216 units in existing six-story apartment buildings with new townhouses. When Vidal Court is complete it will be a crucial actor in transforming the city's entire Westside neighborhood into a stable, economically balanced community. A master plan for Vidal Court was developed by Herbert Newman and Partners in collaboration with Johnson Jones Architects. In addition to architectural design, Newman and Partners will continue as the coordinating planning architect for the duration of the project. According to partner Joseph Schiffer, AIA, in charge of the Vidal project for Newman, "the townhouse building designs will be of a quality that more than meets the living needs of the residents while also addressing their deep desire to have a home, which is in the spirit of the best of American domestic architecture. By incorporating the recognized community-building principles of New Urbanism and defensible space, concepts which combine the creation of safe pedestrian-friendly streets and public spaces, the new Vidal Court will be a model for the renewal of much of the residential urban fabric of Connecticut's inner cities." Demolition of all existing buildings will occur in phases as residents are relocated into their new homes.