Builder Mag Calls Old Mill Cottages 'Infill Done Right'

Old Mill Cottages, the four-unit residential complex built in 2010 across from Old Mill Park near downtown, is featured in the current issue of Builder magazine about "infill (development) done right."

The once-controversial development, which was built by Blithedale Canyon resident Peter Englander, includes three three-bedroom units that sold for more than $1 million apiece in 2011, as well as a 500-square-foot, "below-market" unit under the auspices of the Marin Housing Authority. The development originally included multiple units of affordable housing.

The Mill Valley City Council approved the final map for the Old Mill Cottages in October 2011.

Builder mag's Barbara Ballinger writes that Englander and architect Francis Gough allayed concerns about the project by putting "more space between one of the units and  nearby (Marin Day School), built a fence, and designed all units in the local Shingle-style vernacular, with low-sloped, sweeping rooflines, extended eaves, and large brackets. The changes appeased those who initially did not support the project."

"Working with the community in the design stage was very important, and we believed in the importance of this infill community," Englander said. "We wanted to put our names on something we would always be proud of, and we are honored to be recognized for our efforts on this community."