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2020…what was that!?

It has been a tough year for so many, and we are thankful to still be in a position to help where we can: by facilitating and providing rental assistance to our residential and retail tenants, by making our buildings to be more pandemic resistant and prepared, by supporting our property management teams who have been working harder than ever, by working from home to stop the spread, and rooting for all the healthcare workers and public servants.
Amidst the focus on our residents, tenants, and partners in this new reality; we’ve also tried to keep looking ahead; recognizing that continuing to build, vision, and plan for the future are also incredibly important to the communities where we work. So, we’re especially proud of the things we’ve been able to accomplish this year throughout the Commonwealth:

• Reading – Ace Flats in Reading is well under construction, with the model unit opened this month. We’re excited to cut the ribbon this summer and bring 55 more mixed-income households to a beautiful and growing transit oriented downtown. The building will feature an elevated, southern facing courtyard and numerous apartments with private decks.
• Williamstown – As soon as buyers could tour them, the stunning Riverhouses and Modern Mill designed by MERGE, located along the Green River within walking distance to Williams College were sold out. The ability to work remotely while enjoying the outdoors and all the cultural opportunities will only widen the appeal of the Berkshires in the coming years, and we’re excited to continue to build on our decades of work in the area.
• Hamilton – In the spring of 2020, as we were adjusting to working from home and conducting public meetings via Zoom, we secured the rights, and later in the year, the funding through the Community Scale Housing Initiative, to develop an 18-unit mixed income, mixed use building in the heart of Hamilton’s downtown. The project represents a long-time vision of the town to add sorely needed, well-located, well-designed affordable housing to their community. We’re looking forward to a groundbreaking in the Spring of 2021 and the project is being designed to passive house standards.
• Chelsea – We received funding in late 2020 from the Department of Housing and Community Development to advance our 38-unit mixed income project on the banks of the Mill Creek at the gateway between Revere and Chelsea. We’ll be shooting for a groundbreaking in the Summer of 2021, and this one is also being designed to passive house standards.

Boston – Finally, it continues to be an honor to work with our non-profit clients (United South End Settlements, Children’s Services of Roxbury, YES, to name a few) as they have quickly adapted to serving their kids and families in a pandemic. Our work with each continues to be focused on getting their real estate to best advance their mission, and this year that meant adapting to a new early education operating model, to a new retail and economic development environment, and to a new funding environment.