This mixed-use student housing facility is the flagship of a multi-pronged investment to revitalize Waterville’s Main Street. Alfond Commons completes the downtown cityscape and strengthens town-gown relations. The five-story structure consists of four floors of residential space, with retail and student amenities at the ground floor. Its street level expression includes granite piers and storefronts that allude to the vernacular retail architecture of New England cities and towns. Glazed curtain walls at significant corners create transparency, blurring the lines between college and city. The project features a community forum that hosts city council meetings, lectures, and other events. Residential floors are faced in red brick with masonry ornamentation, with bay projections that create rhythm and visual interest. As at street level, wraparound glazing at these projections invites panoramic views into student apartments, reminding the residents that they are members of both the Colby and Waterville communities.
