The fortress of a building that was once a nursing home at 932 Broadway seemed like an insurmountable task to transform into luxury housing earlier this year when Broadway Capital started construction on the project.
Yet, a transformation is exactly what has happened at the home through the COVID-19 pandemic and now a very unique home ownership opportunity is about ready to be delivered to the market in November.
“We’re at about 80 percent construction completion,” said Mike Vienneau of Broadway Capital. “The goal is to finish things up in the next few months and have it ready for occupancy by November…One thing we really focused on is the owner-occupancy and the affordability. Ownership is a huge thing the City wanted. Because Chelsea has such a high percental of rental properties, they’re looking for more owner-occupancy projects.”
That is exactly what will be delivered, with 33 condos for sale, and six of them affordable to 80 percent AMI (two of them two-bedrooms and four one-bedrooms).
Listing agents Jeff Bowen and Robert Ricardo of RealWay said the for sale units offer a great opportunity to live and work in Chelsea – with prices starting in the mid-$300,000 range and going up. The property also includes an 1,800 sq. ft. roof deck with wood flooring, a dog run, Italian cabinets, in-unit washer/dryer and a Bosch appliance package. There will be management on site too, and Broadway Capital and RealWay intend to open offices in the retail portion of the project on the ground floor.
There are also 33 parking spots and one spot deeded to each owner.
Bowen said it is a milestone development as well, because it is the first significant ownership building put on the market since Mill Creek in 2004.
Ricardo, who has lived in Chelsea all his life after immigrating from Colombia as a child, said he is really excited to bring premiere ownership opportunities to Chelsea – whether it’s existing residents wanting to move into a new building or people coming into the city looking for a diverse community away from Boston or Cambridge.
“I’m excited to be part of this and to really boost the opportunities in Chelsea,” said Ricardo. “Overall, I think the City of Chelsea is on a path to recovery and moving forward in the right direction without losing that urban blue-collar feel…When I was a kid I used to go up on the roof and see how close we were to Boston. I always wondered why more people didn’t come to Chelsea. Now, I’m part of seeing Chelsea become what I thought it could always become…Chelsea is becoming the go-to place. It has its challenges – like any city – but it can surpass them.”
Bowen added that the home-ownership rate in Chelsea is at 17 percent, which is the 5th lowest in the nation behind Newark, NJ. He said that’s why this project is so important.
“We’re trying to bring affordable home-ownership to the City of Chelsea so we can increase tax revenues and have Chelsea provide better schools and infrastructure and change the perception Chelsea is a pass-through community,” he said.