Swift Street Residences

Swift Street Residences is a modest, ground‑up infill building in Troy, New York, created with the Troy Community Land Bank to return a long‑vacant corner to housing. On a 23’ × 65’ site at Swift Street and Sixth Avenue—once home to a small saloon, later demolished—we shaped a compact, durable structure that prioritizes everyday usefulness over image.

What reads as simple is the result of disciplined assembly. We turned to prefabrication to minimize waste, shorten on‑site time, and improve thermal performance. Four above‑grade floors are built from structural pre‑insulated panels; below, a modular, pre‑insulated concrete foundation forms the cellar with only limited in‑place concrete work. The building comes together like a kit: precise, quiet, and efficient in the tight urban fabric.

A calm palette of natural finishes sits over these engineered parts, tuned to its ivy‑covered neighbors rather than to novelty. Each two‑bedroom home is anchored by a generous eat‑in kitchen for cooking and gathering. Upper‑level residences open to long views across Sixth Avenue toward the Hudson, while a shared rooftop garden extends daily life outdoors—morning coffee, an afternoon pause, or a Fourth of July barbecue.

Across the project, details are asked to do double duty: structure provides clean anchors for cabinetry; insulation is structure; assemblies are airtight and low‑maintenance. The result is housing that is clear‑headed and welcoming—built with care, scaled to its block, and made to last.

General Contractor: Cordero Pardee LLC
Prefabricated Panels: Build Green SIPs, Superior Walls
Photographs: Michael Vahrenwald / ESTO