A proposal to renovate a rooming house at 165 Hawthorne St. is scheduled to come before the Planning Board on July 25. Some city officials do have some concerns about the project, including the potential displacement of 18 residents who currently live in the rooming house. At last week’s Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, attorney Anthony Rossi made the initial presentation on the project to the board on behalf of owner Rick Costa. The city’s Licensing Commission previously approved the change of ownership at the rooming house to Costa back in June. The building currently has a retail space on the first floor and 18 single room occupancy units on the upper floors. Rossi said Costa plans to keep the 18 units, but is planning on expanding the single room occupancy rooms with kitchenettes and bathrooms, and adding six one-bedroom apartments on the first floor. “He has purchased many rooming houses in Chelsea and he’s redone them beautifully,” said Rossi. Rossi noted that the building at 165 Hawthorne St. was identified as a problem building in the city by former City Manager Thomas Ambrosino, and that Costa’s plan would be a significant upgrade. The project does require a small addition on the ground floor to provide for stairwells to comply with egress requirements. Rossi said the entire building will be gutted, with the necessary sprinkler, alarm, and other safety upgrades made. Rossi noted that Costa has his office in Chelsea, and that he manages and maintains all of the buildings he owns. “He takes a lot of pride and he spends a lot of money on these buildings,” said Rossi. He added that the first floor apartments are necessary to cover the expense of the rehab of the building and maintaining the single occupancy rooms on the upper floors. Karl Allen from Housing and Community Development said his office did have some issues with the development. “We are displacing 18 residents with no place for them to go, they are not going to be moving back in after the project is done,” said Allen. Allen noted that the development will also displace Bellingham Fruit and Produce, a long-time storefront in the city that provides a service to many Chelsea residents. City Council President Leo Robinso said that speaking from his own experiences, Costa has been responsible for high quality buildings and renovations in the city. “The fact of the matter is that when Tom Ambrosino was city manager, he wanted Rick to get involved in redoing this business,” said Robinson. “The difference between what Community Development is here to say is totally different from what my vision is for improving the city.” Land Use Planning Director John DePriest said he did have some concerns relative to the historic character of the site, which is a historic building in a historic district, since the removal of the commercial space on the first floor would significantly change the character of the building. The project is scheduled to go before the Planning Board on July 25, and then head back to the ZBA for a potential final vote on the project on August 8.