The large-scale redevelopment of the Veterans’ Home in Chelsea (formerly the Chelsea Soldiers’ Home) will be going before the Zoning Board of Appeals for the beginning of the special permit approval process in September.
The four-phase project will also need to go before the Planning Board before coming back to the ZBA for a final vote on the permits. The project, which is a public-private venture between the state and developer Pennrose, could see work get underway as early as the late fall.
On Thursday night, July 20, representatives from the state’s Division of Capital Assessment Management and Maintenance (DCAMM), Pennrose, and other members of the project team were before the ZBA for an informational meeting. The proponents were also expected to meet with the Planning Board for an informational meeting on Wednesday, July 26.
The project includes 241 residential units, with 100 percent preference for veterans and their families, including a new townhouse building with two-bedroom units. In addition, there will be increased and improved greenspace and landscaping, a new central resources location at the current headquarters building, a cafe, and an on-site parking deck.
While there are currently 300 residential units spread across the campus, there are only about 128 veterans currently living on campus. Many of those units are single room occupancies, with shared kitchens and bathrooms.
The renovation of the campus will include studios, one- and two-bedroom units, all with their own kitchens and bathrooms. Since the project is being done in phases, all veterans currently living at the Veterans’ Home will be able to remain on the campus during construction.
The state is also replacing the long-term care facility at the Quigley Building, which dates back to 1949, along with the project at the 9-building domiciliary campus.
Pennrose is not involved with the long-term care facility, according to Paul Crowley, the deputy commissioner for real estate licensing and public-private partnerships for DCAMM.
“Both are operated by the Commonwealth to provide housing and support services for our veterans,” said Crowley. “Both the long-term care facility and the domiciliary are undergoing significant changes. The Commonwealth … currently is replacing the long-term care facility with a new, modern living center with cutting edge resiliency and sustainability features to meet the demands of the environment moving forward.”
The environmental resiliency and sustainability features for the new care facility include geothermal wells, photovoltaic panels, a high-performance envelope, and a high-efficiency building system.
“The ultimate goal of the building is to be a LEED Silver net zero building,” said Crowley.
Crowley said veterans at the care center will have dignified private spaces, with 154 private rooms in the 247,000 square foot building. The six-level building will have two pods of 14 units each.
“The work on the site, once transition of all the residents is completed, will go to 2025,” Crowley said.
Crowley said DCAMM is excited about the public-private partnership with Pennrose for the nine-building domiciliary campus.
“With this redevelopment, the Commonwealth has sought a public-private partnership with the goal of renovating the buildings into affordable veterans-preference housing,” said Crowley. “Together, we hope these two projects will serve as a model for dignified long-term care that our veterans richly deserve.”
Pennrose senior developer Karmen Cheung said the goal of the project is to create more of a campus feel with additional green spaces and amenities and to make the area more pedestrian friendly.
Cheung said the project will be phased, with each phase beginning within six to nine months of each other, and each phase taking about 16 to 18 months to complete.
Near the end of the project, she said the developer’s goal is to decommission the steam plant on the property and use it as a veterans’ museum and community space.
Every veteran who currently resides on the campus will be able to move into a new unit. Cheung said that the first two phases will contain 151 units, which she said is more than enough for the 127 veterans who currently reside at the veterans’ home.