Hallie Bowie – Bliss – NewLeaf
Roger Bliss, builder; Hallie Bowie, architect
Sales point: $591,936/property based on 10 properties with 3 units each
Like Shaker Heights itself, this home design has its roots in the history of Northeast Ohio and looks forward to the future by addressing the needs of current community members. It uses the opportunity provided by unoccupied residential lots to harness the popularity of the return to urban neighborhoods. It will attract new homeowners with designs focused on environmental stewardship, while also enhancing the neighborhood for its current residents. This home:
- Encourages connection between neighbors with its generous front porches
- Respects the traditional neighborhood scale, form, and rhythm of the adjacent homes
- Provides flexible layouts to meet the needs of a variety of residents, including older adults, young families, artists, and business owners
- Includes interior amenities important to new home buyers, such as open floor plans
- Minimizes operating expenses with an energy efficient building envelope and mechanical system, making it more affordable to live in than a new home built to code minimum requirements
- Is ready for the future, with solar orientation for net zero energy operation with the addition of solar panels, further reducing operating costs and eliminating the need for fossil fuel use
- Meets the needs of neighborhood members with mobility limitations, including seniors, with an accessible first floor unit
- Works for extended families who want to be close together while maintaining separate households by providing up to 3 units on one property
- Accommodates a variety of uses, with flexible floor plans that work for home based businesses, artists’†studios, and varying family sizes
- Provides the opportunity for homeowners to have income from rental units, helping them to maintain the properties for the benefit of themselves and the community
- Supports the health of the city by providing housing for more people while recognizing that household size is smaller than it was when the Mooreland neighborhood was first developed