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When most people think of Cape Cod, they think of sandy beaches, hydrangeas, and fried clams. But through a collaboration between Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH), Boston-based architectural firm DREAM Collaborative, and ReVision Energy, the Cape can now also boast a solar-powered affordable housing community.
Located on town-owned land in Mashpee, LeClair Village is a family community made up of 39 affordable homes across three buildings. The development features 14 one-bedroom apartments, 21 two-bedroom units, and 4 three-bedroom apartments. Eight homes will have rents subsidized through Project-Based Vouchers.
In July 2024 ReVision installed 325 solar panels across the community, creating a 156 kW rooftop solar array. In total, it will generate 167,906 kWh of clean solar energy every year, offsetting the community's electric bills and reducing the overall carbon footprint.
The development represents an 11% increase in the town’s affordable housing stock – a significant boost in a high-cost market where many seasonal employees and others struggle to find stable housing that they can afford.
The property is named after Mary LeClair, a long-time Mashpee civic leader who continues to advocate for housing and other causes at the age of 88. LeClair Village was designed to be certified passive house under the strict Passive House Institute of the US (PHIUS) standard. The enclosure (slab, walls, windows, and roof) was designed and built to be air-tight and super thermal performing. With the air-tight enclosure and mechanized ventilation, the building and apartments will provide excellent air quality and comfort to the residents. It will also include a roof top solar array.
ReVision also partnered with POAH and DREAM Collaborative on the Kenzi, a senior-living space in Roxbury which received awards earlier this year for being Boston's first all-electric midrise to incoporate a battery backup system. ReVision's Commercial Solar Consultant Andy Toomajian worked with the team on both projects.
"Working with the full team to support the LeClair project was all about collaboration," said Andy. "DREAM Collaborative took the initial designs for the site. ReVision offered insights on the design to make small but significant changes that improved the potential for solar and building energy performance. We are proud to have worked with this team and be part of a PHIUS certification project that is intentionally designed to bring a cleaner and more modern aesthetic to the village."
Sara Kudra, previously at DREAM Collaborative and now at Architecture Towards Neutral, agreed:
"When our design team inherited the project, the landscape architect had sited the three buildings to work with the topography of the parcel and the plan had been approved. We stepped in and simplified the massing by offsetting the gable to create a salt-box profile, a common vernacular for the Cape. By extending the slope and modifying the dormers to be a shed along the south exposure, we greatly increased the PV production capacity of the site while bringing an updated look to the project. Fewer dormers also makes Passive house detailing simpler, ensuring a high-quality, airtight enclosure. Ultimately, this was enough to get the project to net zero."