This home was NINA's second new construction. We built this single-family home on a vacant lot that the Asylum Hill Congregational Church donated to us, and we designed it to fit not only the architectural and historical character of Asylum Hill but also its neighbor directly to the north. That house, 181 Collins Street, was probably designed by George Keller (so says David Ransom, which is good enough for us!), and we followed the gables and pitched roof of this house as we designed 54 Huntington.

The Zunner Building: named in honor of the architect who designed the building, George Zunner, who was one of the most prolific architects in Hartford. This 1920s building had been a symbol of decay in Asylum Hill, but it is now the neighborhood's newest sign of revitalization. NINA undertook a $2.5 million renovation that completely overhauled this mixed-use building: NINA reduced the number and enlarged the size of the apartments, adding air-conditioning and laundry in each unit, re-configured the third floor as office space, and updated the ground floor retail space.

This classic 1875 Italianate was probably the first single-family home that wasn’t a mansion that was built in the Nook Farm section of Asylum Hill. It didn’t look that way when we first got a hold of it: several additions plus deteriorating vinyl siding conspired to make the house look so modern that it was excluded from the Imlay-Laurel Historic District! (We had it added.) We demolished the additions; restored the window crowns and roof brackets beneath the soffit; and returned the third-story windows to their original Italianate look. The homebuyers assisted us with the final details, both interior and exterior, and the house reflects a modern sensibility inside while preserving the historic and architectural character of the house as originally built by J. Porter Whiton.