Special to the Record
Last Thursday, officials from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the City of Chelsea and the Chelsea Housing Authority, in partnership with Joseph J. Corcoran Company and John M. Corcoran & Company, celebrated the grand opening of DUO Apartments on Central Ave., a $155 million transformational development creating a premier, 330 unit mixed-income apartment community in Chelsea.
DUO is the first completed project in the Commonwealth’s Public Housing Innovations Demonstration Program (PHIDP), replacing 96 units of aging public housing with 96 brand new, energy efficient and ADA accessible affordable units inside the new, class A community.
“DUO stands as a shining example of what we can do when public and private partners come together to build stronger communities,” said Ed Augustus, secretary of the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities. “The Public Housing Innovations Program gives our housing authorities the flexibility to improve public housing while creating quality, mixed-income communities residents can take pride in. The Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities is proud to partner with financial support for this project.”
Paul Nowikcki, the executive director of the Chelsea Housing Authority said the celebration was the culmination of over eight years of collaboration and hard work of many partners to realize a vision for future generations in Chelsea.
“I am extremely proud of our collective team and their dedication to putting our residents first, and I’m thrilled for the future residents of DUO who will now live in this state-of-the-art community,” said Nowicki.
DUO is the site of the former Innes Apartments public housing development, which was constructed in the 1950s and had suffered from decades of delayed modernization. The Chelsea Housing Authority recognized the needs of residents and families who deserved a safer, ADA accessible, modern standard of living and partnered with private developers Joseph J. Corcoran Company and John M. Corcoran & Company to reimagine the community through the development of DUO. The project team maintained consistent communication with the Residents Association throughout the course of the project, with a commitment to transparency and a resident-centered approach, according to the city and private partners.
“Collectively, we are driven by our desire to build safe and healthy homes that every person and family deserves,” said Joseph J. Corcoran, founder and CEO of Joseph J. Corcoran Company.
”Every single member of our team was 100% committed to making sure that the Innes residents saw this day – when they had safe, accessible, modern spaces to call home; where they could provide a good life for their children; and pursue opportunities for their families. To achieve this vision, we had to be creative, we had to be persistent, and we had to make the numbers work.
“Thanks to the diligence of our teams, the transparency with our partners at Chelsea Housing Authority, and the support of our financing partners, the Commonwealth and the City of Chelsea – we have created a model here where everyone sees a return on their investment.”
The approximately 350,000 square foot project included the demolition of the eight functionally obsolete buildings on the site, and construction of a standalone parking garage and two multifamily buildings. The community features an impressive array of amenities including: three roof decks with views, two sky lounges, health hub workout spaces, a large community game room with golf simulator, indoor pup tub, outdoor dog run, playground, shared workspace and outdoor courtyard, as well as 257 garage parking spaces. Apartment homes feature bright open interiors with plank flooring throughout the living spaces and bedrooms. DUO is located one block from the Eastern Ave MBTA Silver Line T stop in Chelsea and will also offer 5,000 square feet of street-level retail space. Discussions with local businesses interested in occupying the space are already underway.
“After years of meetings and problem-solving together with this team, I am so proud to have given my children the opportunity to see first-hand how communities, government and private partners can come together to get big things done,” said Melissa Booth, President of the Innes Residents Association. “We are so excited to move into this beautiful new community and our new home. And we are so proud to share the result of this hard work with all of you today. It’s a dream come true.”
The eight-year, $155 million dollar project is the product of many dedicated funding partners who worked tirelessly through many challenges including the COVID-19 pandemic, significant local housing rental shifts, inflation and rising construction costs. Sources of capital came from public agencies, including the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC), MassWorks and the City of Chelsea as well as private capital secured from Marcus Partners, Cambridge Savings Bank, Eastern Bank and Harbor One Bank, along with the project’s developers, Joseph J. Corcoran Company, and John M. Corcoran & Company.
“It’s been amazing to be a part of this collaborative work toward a shared goal – providing new homes for residents and pathways to housing for more people in the community,” shared Peter Mahoney, Executive Vice President, John M. Corcoran & Co. “This unprecedented effort and state-of-the-art development serves as a future model for communities across the Commonwealth.”
Construction of DUO was led by Plumb House, Inc. Residents will begin moving into the apartments this month, with construction of DUO’s second residential building on track to be delivered in 2025. For more information on DUO, please visit: https://www.duoapts.com/.