Cecillia Place is a small community of attached cottages in Tiburon, California for active seniors. Cecellia Place was developed by a non-profit housing corporation in cooperation with the city. The project provides affordable housing for seniors with limited incomes in an affluent community of high-end residential homes.

Fifteen efficiency cottages, each with its own front porch enclosed by a picket fence, are clustered around a central garden courtyard. This shared space includes a terrace with covered benches and gardens. An additional two bedroom cottage is provided for an onsite manager. Grouped into four buildings, each cottage has a distinctive roof form and varying color to give a sense of personal individuality and identity. Simple building materials were purposefully selected to invoke familiarity and achieve economy. Each fully accessible cottage has a small but complete kitchen, dining alcove, and outdoor private, shaded terrace. A community room and laundry are located near the center of the courtyard. Parking is clustered to one side and access to the cottages is provided along level pedestrian walks within the courtyard.

Demand for the cottages was so intense that tenants had to be selected by lottery. Cecilia Place received the Grand Award for Senior Housing in the PCBC Gold Nugget Award Program.

Support household and neighborhood fit:

Cecillia Place is located within walking distance of shops and public transportation. All units open on to a shared garden entry which also provides access to a common laundry and community room, which are shared to encourage interaction among residents.

Be universally accessible:

All units, including the manager's units are fully accessible. Floors are slab-on-grade and porches and patios are level with the interior floor. All doors meet accessibility standards and kitchens and baths are designed to allow for wheelchair access and maneuvering. Van accessible parking is provided near the pathways. The sidewalk along the street has a continuous handrail as well as an intermediate trellis covered bench for resting.

Meet high aesthetic standards:

Each unit is designed as an individual cottage with its own distinct roof. Each cottage has its own covered entry porch (with a potted plant shelf) and a private trellis rear patio. Materials are purposefully kept simple (board and batten siding and composition shingle roofs), yet elegant.