Located in Columbus Park, 517 Gillis is the renovation of an early 1900s multi-family building that had fallen into disrepair after years of neglect and unsympathetic alterations. Original architectural elements that once defined its character and relationship to the street, most notably a wood stair and balcony along the south elevation, had been removed and replaced with an interior stair, severing the building’s historic connection to the neighborhood.

​

The renovation restores this original logic by reintroducing exterior circulation within the stair and balcony’s historic footprint. A new expressive galvanized steel stair and balcony return apartment entries to their original location, while custom aluminum and wood vertical fins reinterpret the rhythm of the former wood picket railing. At street level, the storefront has been reinstated, strengthening the building’s edge and reactivating its role within what was once a vibrant pedestrian corridor.