Preparing 46 Cumberland Avenue for Construction. The Ground Floor Will Have Two Garage Spaces And An Architect's Office.

By Carol McCracken

By the end of next spring, Chris Roberts, his wife, and another couple expect to be moved into their new homes on the Hill.  In the meantime, the two couples have been working to get through the planning  process, getting permitted and, finally, getting to work preparing the property for construction – the property is at 44-46 Cumberland Avenue, near North Street, at the top of the Hill.

The two couples live on Peaks Island.  Roberts is a retired contractor from upstate New York.  He’s lived on the Island for 7 years.  His partner in this endeavor Richard Reed is an architect who has lived on the Island for much longer. Reed has an office on Pleasant Street.  The two men and their wives decided sometime ago to blend their talents into two ‘in-town’ residences while retaining their Peaks Islands homes.  So, they bought the two lots last October. They are zoned R-6.

The side-by-side lots which are less than one acre combined will reuse long-standing old buildings, Roberts recently said.  Number 44 Cumberland Avenue in which he and his wife will live may have been a carriage house, Roberts said.  It may be the newer of the two structures as well.  Two floors will be added on to 46 Cumberland Avenue – the living accommodations – above the two car garage and architect Reed’s office.  The exterior of the two buildings will be a mix of “traditional and modern” said Roberts.  “They will be constructed of wood, concrete and metals,” he said.