Bourne Mill Apartments

Project Details

Project Description

The historic Bourne Mill – once the largest cotton manufacturing mill in the world – is one of the first mill conversion projects to have achieved LEED® Silver certification. The approximately $27 million adaptive reuse has transformed an 1881 historic former textile mill, encompassing approximately 187,000 square feet within eight different buildings.

In addition to preserving a highly recognizable building on the National Register of Historic Places, the project has added 165 units of mixed-income housing into the area. The design approach maintained the mill’s historic character while also achieving a challenging 30% energy reduction over comparable buildings. Achieving LEED Silver confirms The Architectural Team’s contention that these “recycled factories” – a specialty for the firm – are a key to a more sustainable future.

“We used some straightforward techniques to adapt the buildings,” says firm partner and principal-in-charge Mike Binette, “and we also brought in best practices we have pioneered in similar projects around New England and the U.S., including the reuse of all structural elements, walls and roofs, and stabilizing of historic masonry walls with spray-foam insulation.”

Other improvements over standard building techniques included the use of high-efficiency plumbing fixtures and the omission of permanent irrigation systems in favor of using local plantings that need little maintenance, resulting in at least a 50% reduction in water use.