Raelene was previously employed at MKSD architects in Allentown and with Bohler Engineering, managing the marketing activities for their Pennsylvania offices. In addition to managing our marketing and business development efforts, Raelene is actively involved in a number of professional organizations and nonprofit organizations. She is the Website Chair for SMPS Philadelphia, the Membership Chair for CREW Philadelphia and a Founding Board Member of Down Goes Cancer- The Joe Mak Memorial Foundation. When not marketing, Raelene enjoys spending time with her husband, their twins, and two Labs.

Before joining BartonPartners, Lyle worked at firm of Reed Axelrod Architects for over ten years, specializing in institutional and custom residential design. As a project manager at BartonPartners, Lyle is working on the conversions of existing office buildings and warehouses into mixed-use, multi-family apartment buildings. He currently lives in Philadelphia and has two children.

Design Trends Workshop
Thursday, February 9
8:30 - 11:30am
Design Studio- West 307A
Panel of experts including Bill Warwick

NAHB & AIA Plan Review Workshop II
Friday, February 10
1:30 - 4:30pm
Design Studio- West 307A
Speaker(s): Bill Warwick, Amy Martino, Donald Evans, Ed Binkley, Gary Godden, Jerry Gloss, Mark Garagiola, Mark Jones, Monica Robertson, Victor Mirontschuk

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/del-sano-contracting-announces-grand-opening-of-first-multiple-sclerosis-apartment-facility-on-the-east-coast-2011-10-27

 http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/healthquest/kershaw-commons-in-freehold-twp-is-njs-first-ms-supportive-housing

 http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20111027/NJNEWS/310270078/MS-patients-get-affordable-housing-NJ-complex-national-model?odyssey=nav%7Chead

The building’s exterior, common spaces, apartments, and amenity spaces were all outdated, not attracting or meeting the needs of the target customers. The target customer segments include young professionals, students, and empty nesters. Per Wes Powell, VP of Development at Aimco, “The Redevelopment Vision will add value by fully leveraging the property’s three primary intrinsic competitive advantages: its prime center city location, a variety of floor plan offerings in two distinct tiers, and its rooftop amenity”

Phase 1 renovations, completed in 2010, included renovating the first floor public and leasing spaces. The new interior layout is more efficient and functional, with a “transitional warm” design, reminiscent of a boutique hotel. Clean, contemporary lines in the spaces are balanced with warm natural woods and accents of color. A new contemporary glass wall, fireplace, lighting, area rugs, draperies, artwork, and plantings were also specified to enhance the public spaces.

Phase 2 renovations, scheduled to start construction in Spring 2012, includes the balance of the redevelopment improvements. The rooftop pool and deck enhancements include a new raised social deck, designed for three-season outdoor use. Designed to be the “best-in-market amenity”, the social deck will better capture spectacular views of the city sky­line. The deck, covered with a new large roof-top canopy, will be used for outdoor eating, viewing large-screen TV, and resident social events. The remaining pool deck will feature a new contemporary metal and glass enclosure, planters and trees, and upgraded outdoor furnishings.

Just below the rooftop pool level, the 30^th floor fitness center will be expanded and completely upgraded. A new two-story high addition will provide much needed space for the residents, with tremendous daylight and views to the City. An open balcony on the 31^st floor pool level will overlook the new high volume space, integrating the two major recreational amenities for all residents.

Interior renovations include a 5^th floor resi­dent business & study lounge, with laptop workstations, three conference rooms fully equipped with A/V, lounge seating, and coffee station. Additionally, the common corridors and elevator lobbies on the residential floors 5-29, will have upgraded finishes, lighting, furnishings, and art­work.

The exterior façade & lighting upgrades include both daytime and night-time enhancements. The daytime improvements involve introducing new colors to the exterior black wall panels and window frames on the 2^nd thru 4^th floor levels. The new specified paint coating system is a relatively low cost/high impact solution to enliven the building’s daytime image from the street level. The night-time improvements involve new exterior facade lighting. New street level lighting will make the building more inviting and safer at night, and create a more vibrant retail presence in the heart of the business district. On the cityscape scale, horizontal LED light bands will be added to the existing continuous building wall panels to enliven all four facades. Warm white lighting will accent the new large rooftop canopy and perim­eter deck enclosure, with colored accent lighting inside the sub-roof enclosure below, creating a dramatic new night-time image for the Sterling.

Of course, upgrading all 535 apartment units is the heart of the property’s redevelopment. In general, the improvements include creating more open and enlarged kitchens, enlarging the bathrooms, adding more closet space, and upgrading the finishes, appliances, plumbing and lighting fixtures. Two distinct finish levels were established relating to the customer segments. On the lower floors 5-9, where the mix is primarily smaller studio and one bedroom units, the new finishes are fresh, clean, modern, and durable. On the upper floors 10-29, where the mix is weighted more toward larger two and three bedroom units commanding a variety of views, the design is up-scale and finishes are upgraded.

Heritage Village at Sea Breeze answers to the needs of today’s seniors. The Energy Star community is not just providing affordable housing, but a lifestyle. Shuttle transportation for residents offers convenient access to explore the town. "Heritage Village at Sea Breeze fills a growing need for affordable senior housing that allows those with a fixed income to remain near their family and friends throughout the natural aging process," said Barbara K. Schoor, CIS vice president.

The Municipality of Norristown acquired funding from the Montgomery County Affordable Housing Trust Fund dollars as well as a federal HOME grant and Pennsylvania RACP grant to tear down the two existing, dilapidated buildings at the intersection of DeKalb and East Elm Street. The Municipality then sought out Progessive Housing Ventures LLC , who specializes in developing new, energy-efficient housing in older communities, to help in the revitalization project. BartonPartners and Progressive Housing Ventures shared the same vision as the Municipality of catapulting the redevelopment of a neighborhood on the rise.

Special financing is being made available so that these homes are in financial reach of qualifying buyers. Arbor Heights is providing affordable housing for those who would otherwise not have the opportunity to own a home.

The genesis of this project began with Ken Regan, Vice President of Regan Development, through his volunteer consulting work for The National MS Society. Together with the President of the NJ Chapter for MS, Mike Elkow, Ken sought to create a residential facility to provide this much needed housing alternative. The ideal site was chosen, less than a mile from CentraState Medical Center's Multiple Sclerosis Center and the MS Wellness Center.

Regan Development retained BartonPartners because of our knowledge and capabilities in both assisted living facilities and affordable housing. All 30 units have been designed to far exceed the typical handicapped accessibility requirements. Notable design features include: 

• Automatic key fob actuated 42” wide doors throughout
• Accessibility clearances designed for powered scooters as well as wheelchairs
• Every apartment has a fully accessible kitchen with roll-out pantry shelves, and roll-under sinks and countertops
• Every apartment has a fully accessible bathroom with grab bars and roll-in shower with accessible seat and controls 

Kershaw Commons also provides common spaces that engage the needs of the residents: the Wellness Room features adapted exercise equipment, the community gardens have accessible raised planting beds, and the elevator is oversized to accommodate multiple scooters.

The project complies with Green Futures, the sustainable green building program of the NJHMFA's Special Needs Housing Trust Fund. This program mandates intelligent site & land use, improved air quality, moisture control, energy and resource efficiency, and water conservation.

On move-in day Ken remarked, "Working hand in hand with the MS community, the general contractor Del-Sano Contracting Corporation, and BartonPartners, we were able to address all the challenges presented in designing and building a facility such as this, and that is the reason why this building is such a success. BartonPartners'  creative, knowledgeable, and collaborative approach made the design process  smooth and productive for both the developer and the residents."

In 2009, the Elverson Fire Company merged with the neighboring Morgantown Fire Company at a new location in between the two towns leaving the fire house empty and unused.

In Elverson, as in many small towns, the fire house is the true center of the community life. Men and woman train and volunteer their time providing the much needed emergency services. The Elverson Fire Company building, in addition to the requisite engine bays, included an auditorium, the Springfield Room. This space, with full stage and basement dressing rooms, was the venue for countless performances, meetings and celebrations - the “heart” of Elverson for decades.

Delaware Valley Development Company (our client) decided that Elverson would be a perfect location for an affordable housing project to serve the aging population. DVDC and BartonPartners imagined how the new development could retain and incorporate the Springfield Room as an amenity for the residents as well has preserve this community asset. The engine bays were demolished and BartonPartners designed the new facility to incorporate the auditorium so that it can be used during the day by the residents and on special occasions by the entire community.

At the grand opening of Hopewell Manor in July 2011, the new joint Twin Valley Fire Company rededicated the Springfield Room in honor of all of the fire company personnel who have served through the 100 year history of the Elverson Fire House.

Hopewell Manor - sustainable design and adaptive reuse in small town America.

Owned and developed by the Pennsylvania Avenue Townhouses, LP (a partnership between Main Line Health Real Estate, LP and Trammell Crow Company) and constructed under the careful eye of the Vaughan Building Group, LLC – home sales have been strong. Since the grand opening on January 15th, 11 of 18 homes available for sale are under agreement, with prices beginning in the low $600,000's.

Situated neatly between the SEPTA Paoli/Thorndale Regional Rail Line and the Route 100 High Speed Line and two short blocks from the commercial center of Bryn Mawr, Lancaster Ave., homeowners have multiple transportation options for stress free commuting. In addition to its adjacency to a major employment center like Bryn Mawr Hospital, within an easy stroll from Whitehall is a wide selection of restaurants & shops, a newly expanded community Library, and the Bryn Mawr Film Institute. With options like these so close at hand, one would seldom need to move their car from any one of the 4 off street parking spaces available to each home owner (2 garage and 2 apron).

Conceived as a building-oriented solution to help screen a large parking structure, these new homes have taken on their own identity. Combining a rich palate of exterior materials, color and traditional detailing, the townhomes at Whitehall show that highly durable, contemporary materials, while low maintenance, can also be used to express luxury. At 4 floors and over 2900 square feet of livable space the homes not only provide an effective screen to the parking garage, but are also sympathetic in scale to the surrounding neighborhood streets.

Fitting these new homes into the surrounding area was essential. Chip Vaughan notes that "the covered porches and balconies, which are key elements of the homes, form a bridge between the new neighbors and the existing community.”

Whitehall shows that development opportunities are where you find them. Today our clients are increasingly non-conventional housing developers, including both public and private companies, who are looking to solve problems and address needs by partnering with residential builders. These unique opportunities offer potential for success in today's challenged marketplace by addressing the core needs of buyers that are not provided for elsewhere.