LYNN ― Ward 6 will soon welcome new neighbors into a freshly-built housing complex that transformed an old vacant parking lot.
The project, which adds 12 new units to the Lynn housing market, was developed by Neighborhood Development Associates (NDA) under the supervision of Lynn Housing Authority & Neighborhood Development (LHAND).
It sits between River and Burns streets in West Lynn off of Western Avenue, on a former General Electric Aviation (GE) plot that used to be a vacant and unsightly parking lot.
It took more than three years for LHAND to get a meeting with GE and pitch the project before the developers were able to buy the land, said Peggy Phelps, project manager.
State Reps. Peter Capano (D-Lynn) and Daniel Cahill (D-Lynn), Sen. Brendan Crighton (D-Lynn) and Ward 6 Councilor Frederick Hogan have played instrumental roles in the negotiations, said Charles J. Gaeta, executive director of LHAND.
“It was a huge effort by so many people,” said Gaeta. “But without GE changing their policy on vacant land we wouldn’t have been able to do this revitalization. Thanks goes to them for stepping up and allowing us the development.”
The development, now called River’s End Townhomes, consists of four two-level units with unfinished basements, seven townhouses with garages and a three-bedroom, single-family home. The units are completely finished now and are currently on the market for sale.
“They did a great job with the details and the quality of the finished product,” said Eileen Jonah-Daly, the seller’s realtor on this project.
The landscaping on the premises has an irrigation system. The units without garages come with two deeded parking spots.
“We are constantly talking about needing housing, needing affordable housing and blue-collar housing. This is it,” said Jonah-Daly. “The LHAND did a really good job, in my opinion, of adding inventory and product into the housing stream for people that need a place to live and who are coming out of renting.”
The townhouses are priced at $459,900 and the two-level units are $439,900. Five units are already under agreement, Jonah-Daly said. The buyers are required to use these properties as their principal residence and the developers hope they will be sold to first-time home buyers.
“For new construction with this quality and parking, and the location and proximity to Boston in this market, that is a very competitive price range,” said Jonah-Daly.
Out of the 12 units, three are classified as affordable housing. LHAND is marketing them to its clients from the Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Program, which assists people with saving funds to purchase their own home.
“We designed the units to mirror the existing homes in the neighborhoods,” said Phelps.
The neighborhood’s homes were built in the French-mansard style. The new development has the same style roofing, cornices and windows and it blends in beautifully with the surrounding houses, Phelps said.
“I think that goes a long way for revitalization, as far as maintaining the architectural integrity of the neighborhood,” said Phelps.
The project started in June 2020. Work went on straight through the pandemic with minor hiccups due to supply-chain shortages, said Phelps.
The entire site needed some remediation work. NDA, the development arm of LHAND, partnered with the Economic Development & Industrial Corporation of Lynn (EDIC/Lynn) to facilitate the environmental cleanup.
Salem Five financed the construction.
NDA, a nonprofit housing corporation, was established more than 40 years ago and helps create homeownership, rental and economic opportunities for people with low to moderate incomes in Lynn. Since LHAND started working with NDA, the agency has been able to increase housing production.
“We have been able to go into many blighted neighborhoods and rebuild them,” said Gaeta. “This is just the latest example and it really created a new neighborhood.”
