The Basilica Court project is a residential development in Boston’s Mission Hill neighborhood. The site is located on Smith Street in the shadow of the iconic Boston’s Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, and immediately adjacent to the Mission Hill Playground/Park. As it currently stands, the project site is home to three existing buildings, two of which are uninhabited. RODE’s proposed design involves the demolition of both uninhabited buildings (80 Smith St. and 100 Smith St.) and the proposal of two new-construction residential buildings in their place. The new 100 Smith St. building will be a 15 story tower that is home to about 153 residential units as well as a large shared amenity space on level 2. The building located at 80 Smith St. will stand at 7 stories tall, containing approximately 87 residential units and its own shared amenity space on level 2 as well.

The driving factors behind building design include site-history, efficiency of layout, and response to the immediate context. RODE’s design team is focused on remaining respectful of the site context by creating a contemporary yet simple building that specifically doesn’t compete with the elegant, elaborate design of the Basilica immediately next door. The majority of the height of the project is being pushed to the 100 Smith St. address in an effort to match the much taller-scale fabric on St. Alphonsus St. to the West, while the new building at 80 Smith St. is reduced to 7-stories in response to the adjacent smaller-scale buildings to the East. The building massings will also utilize step-backs in strategic locations to respond to neighboring buildings while simultaneously creating outdoor spaces for living or amenity programs.