SmartDESIGN Architecture

Ed Smart has been on a long haul to renovate his property at 4 Mix Place into a combination living and work space for himself and smartDesign in Batavia.

A series of code variances for his rezoning request, landscaping issues and neighbor concerns have turned his journey into a string of meetings with the city’s Planning & Development Committee, City Council Zoning Board of Appeals and soon the Historic Preservation Commission.

He said in June 2023 that his goal was to “see this thing restored to its glory and then some.”

“It’s just a beautiful piece of property,” he had said of his rambling site at 4 Mix Place. “I’ve invested in it even without being able to use it until I know I can use it for the use I want.”

And what he wants is to convert it into a combination residence, a small apartment and his smartDESIGN Architecture firm, requiring it to be zoned residential 3 to allow for professional offices in that section of the city between Ellicott Avenue and Oak Street.

Smart has worked to repair significant damage from prior theft and water leakage, made it past City Council for rezoning and a few trips to the city’s Planning Committee, and returned again this week to address landscaping, parking and a neighbor’s concerns. 

His plans had included 12 parking spots; however, neighbor Jessica Lankford had sent a letter of “serious concerns” about parking along their shared fence — the potential for less privacy of her backyard pool — which prompted discussion about alternatives. 

“I could probably supply 10 spaces and not provide the other two. I'm just trying to plan to accommodate people when I have a full house, which, again, doesn't happen that often,” Smart said. “I’ve had a very cooperative relationship with the Lankfords. We collaborated on the vinyl fence that was installed there. So again, there's been a good communication, good cooperation. I was not aware that she had sent this letter, happy to talk to her about it. Usually, the fears from neighbors when you're talking about automobile traffic in a parking area like this has to come with light shining into their yard. Again, that vinyl fence is six feet high, and it's solid. There's no spaces in between it.”

Code Enforcement Officer Doug Randall reminded him of the requirement for parking areas within 20 feet of neighbors: there needs to be solid screen fencing or plantings that obstruct the view. Smart said there is to be a wood stockade fence along the upper east side, placed on his property, “or we would cooperate with them.” 

Randall wanted to confirm that Smart has coordinated the plan with his neighbors. “If you’re going to put a fence on their property for maintenance,” Randall said.

Other considerations are the height of the fence — no more than 6 feet tall, and solid enough to shield nearby homes from headlight spray — and parking parallel versus perpendicular to the road, or using a row of bushes as space for parking, neither of those last two options which would work, Smart said. 

“That would be a substantial change to the landscape of the yard of this historic residence. One of the special features of this is that it's an extremely large lot in the middle of the city and highly landscaped. There's sandstone pavers that come along the back,” he said. “And also, that would impact the way you would approach the parking so, so they actually come across the entire back of the house. To have parking on the west side, in my opinion, would be a real detriment to the to the presidential character of that piece of property.”

While seemingly monotonous and detailed, these are the crux of site plans, especially in the city when accommodating neighbors’ requests and concerns. The shared fence is about 24 feet from the edge of the parking space, which seems to fit what’s required in the special use permit, committee members agreed.

The committee approved a motion for the plan, minus two parking spots for a total of 10, with the agreement that Smart has to go to the Historic Preservation Commission for approval of all exterior changes.

That was another positive step forward. Smart said he wouldn’t be able to do any construction until the approval process is complete. 

“I really want to be in it by the end of the year and make that work,” he said.

Press Release:

Edwin Smart, Owner and president of SmartDESIGN Architecture, and Martha Bailey, SDA Office Manager, present Habitat for Humanity of Genesee County with a check. This money was raised from their 3rd annual SDA Golf Outing in partnership with Habitat. Accepting the donation from Habitat are Jaylene Smith-Kilner, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity, and Arielle McVay, Board President.

When Ed Smart initially saw his prospective new abode at 4 Mix Place, there was an obvious misgiving about the place.

“The first time I walked through it, it was raining inside the building,” he said during an interview with The Batavian Wednesday. “We appreciate beautiful buildings, so I'd love to see this thing restored to its glory and then some. It's just a beautiful piece of property. And, you know, over the time that I have owned it, I've invested in it, even without being able to use it, until I know I can use it for the use I want.”

And what he wants, which he has officially requested as smartDESIGN Architecture with a letter to the city, is to move his architectural company into the premises that are zoned residential 1A and obtain a zoning code update to amend that to residential 3 to allow for professional offices in that section of the city.

Smart is requesting to amend a section in the zoning code to read “offices for attorneys, physicians, dentists, another similar professional, not exceeding four offices in a single structure.” The current code does not include “and other similar professionals” in that section.

City Manager Rachael Tabelski recommended to City Council this week that if the group opted to grant the request, it may also want to consider including 1 Mix, a single-family residence, and 3 Mix, a two-building, eight-unit apartment building, to bring them into the R-3 district for zoning compliance.

Smart wants to bring his staff of about 11 people plus himself — give or take, depending on business needs at any given moment —  and set up shop at the Mix Place site.

Formerly a residence with ample grounds and gardens, trees and smaller buildings, the site was built in 1809 by Ebenezer Mix, and has been a single-family residence and fixture for decades, until the last several years, when left unoccupied it has been vandalized, heavily damaged, and then discovered by Smart. It failed to sell at an auction before he made an offer and purchased it about two years ago, he said.

“I fixed quite a few things that needed attention. There were thieves and vandals that got in there and stole the copper, and they left a big hole in the roof where they ripped the vent stack out of the roof water had just been dumped in there, and it completely destroyed two rooms, and it partially destroyed a couple of others. 

"So I fixed the roof, it was all hot water heat before, which of course, was covered, so I got some heat in there and then also ran dehumidifiers around the clock for months, actually. So then dried it out. And so it's been warm and dry,” he said. “And, then also, we've done some maintenance around the property. So, again, just trying to be a good neighbor, before we can get in there, we took out a whole lot of dead trees, where limbs were falling and things like that, but maintaining the attractive trees that are in there, with no intention of clear-cutting like that it’s too beautiful of a yard. We recently put a roof on the shed … and are working on a roof now for the little gazebo in the back, which is a beautiful little building, so I keep trying to keep things neat over there.”

He sent out a letter to the surrounding neighborhoods earlier this month to introduce himself and his intentions and to invite residents the opportunity to call or email him with questions, comments and concerns. To date, he has only heard positive feedback, he said.

SmartDESIGN does not get a lot of in-person visitors, he said, and oftentimes staff is off-site to tend to customer needs, so he does not expect there to be an issue with traffic. One employee works in Arizona, two others in Central New York that commute one day per week, and remote work is encouraged, he said. The company has been located on Harvester Avenue in Batavia for 19 years.

His firm “delivers architectural and design services throughout the United States,”  he said in his application. “On an average day, there will be five to seven people in the office. With a full office, parking for 10 vehicles would be necessary and can be accommodated at the property.

His intent is to maintain the historic character of the building, he said, including “all roofs, windows, doors, siding and shutters” that will be repaired, and “the entire building will be painted with a “historically-appropriate color palette.”

Despite that first glimpse of a raining interior, why here?
“So when I made the decision that I was going to start looking, (4 Mix Place) popped up on our radar, and we went and took a look … nobody else really had the will to take this project on. There's certainly people that have the finances, but those people didn't have the will. So this is something where I really, really liked this building, I really liked that spot in the city. I think our use is a good fit for the community, and I think we can bring that building back to its past glory,” Smart said. “I would like to have a community opening next year to celebrate our 20th anniversary. We would love to celebrate it in that building.

“One of the things I’d like to emphasize is that anything that we do in that space isn’t anything that couldn’t be undone in the future. This house has been there for 200 years, and it’s going to have a life after me, but it will be my final home and will be here for the life of my business.”

Smart encourages neighborhood residents to contact him with comments at (585) 345-4067, Ext. 112 or by email at esmart@smartdesignarchitecture.com.

City Council is expected to vote on his request, which may include being forwarded to the city’s Planning & Development Committee, during its next meeting on July 10.