SWBR celebrates grand opening of $24 million Brickstone community; Project team includes: BCT Architects, M/E Engineering and Christa Construction

Officials from Monroe County, the town of Brighton, St. John's and SWBR (www.swbr.com) celebrated the grand opening of Brickstone, a revolutionary senior community based on the principles of New Urbanism. Brickstone, a St. John's community, adjacent to St. John's Meadows, is comprised of 102 units - apartments and lofts, one-story bungalows and two story townhouses - situated around natural wetlands. The design and layout of the development also includes walking trails and pathways and a village square that includes retail space that will be available to residents of Brickstone, St. John's Meadows and the neighboring Brighton and Rochester city communities. The construction cost for the 215,000 s/f project was $24 million. The project scope for St. John's Brickstone includes 53 bungalow homes, nine townhomes and 40 apartments. The apartments will also have 20 inside garage spaces. Along with these living areas will be 12,000 s/f of common space, a 1,800 s/f boathouse/maintenance building and a 20-car detached garage building. All of this is located on a 17-acre site. As lead architect, SWBR will provide architectural, structural, interior design and construction administration for this project. Other project team members include: BCT Architects, design architect; M/E Engineering, P.C., M/E/P engineer and Christa Construction, general contractor. The revolutionary aspect of Brickstone is its design, based on the principles of New Urbanism. New Urbanism suggests that building and landscape design reflect the history and the styles and standards of the community and make smart use of the land available to enhance the social interaction and comfort of a true neighborhood. As a New Urbanism community, Brickstone features a defined center and mixed styles of housing in a setting that is entirely "walkable." "Our overall approach for Brickstone is to create an inviting neighborhood, one that is easy to negotiate for our residents and is a desirable destination for the area's neighboring residents for shopping, meetings and events, and other opportunities," said St. John's president and CEO, Charlie Runyon. "In short, Brickstone invites our existing Brighton neighbors to participate in becoming a neighborhood with us." All homes at Brickstone are available on a rental basis; no purchase of the home or entrance fee is required. This financial strategy provides Brickstone residents a highly desirable and modern home without the necessity of tying up funds in home ownership.