Peary Court Master Plan & Architecture

Peary Court is a former Naval housing complex that is located across from a primary entrance to the largest historic district in the State of Florida, the Key West Historic District, known as Old Town. After the 28-acre site was sold to a private developer, the City of Key West passed an ordinance changing the zoning from Military to Historic Special Medium Density Residential District (HSMDR). Zyscovich is working within the Historic Architectural Review Commission Design Guidelines to create new structures that are sensitive and harmonious to the existing historic urban context in proportion, scale and mass.
The scope of work includes the replacement of 160 non-contributing dwelling units and the addition of 48 affordable housing units. Based on the premise that architecture is a product of cultural evolution, Zyscovich analyzed the local vernacular framing construction methods found in the historic district, and has reinterpreted them using new building techniques and the latest prefabricated-building technology. The result will be a mixture of human-scaled, single-story, one-and-one-half-story, and two-story duplex and triplex units that all face the street. To maintain harmony with the surrounding historic urban fabric, each unit will have a porch and will read as two full stories.