Babak Behin purchased a fire-damaged 1873 Victorian on Beacon Avenue in Jersey City for $579,000 in 2016, initially planning to replace it with a nine-unit multifamily building. The ENT surgeon saw the property as retirement income, but his investment strategy shifted after community pushback from preservationists led by neighbor Norrice Raymaker.

Raymaker, president of the Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy, worried the historic Heights neighborhood was losing its architectural character to demolition. Jersey City's zoning revisions now incentivize preserving older structures while allowing accessory dwelling units. The brothers worked with city officials to redesign the project, with Behrang Behin's firm creating a compromise solution.

The final development restored the original house as a single-family home and added three two-bedroom townhouses behind it, designed with pitched roofs to complement the historic structure. This "hyper A.D.U." project demonstrates how developers can achieve returns while addressing neighborhood concerns about density and character loss in rapidly gentrifying urban areas.

The $2.1 million project required sensitive negotiations with the Sgt. Anthony Park Neighborhood Association and navigated pandemic-related delays. It shows that market-rate housing development need not bulldoze community opposition when architects and developers engage early with preservation concerns.