LYNN — Fans of the large “The Resident” mural in Olympia Square will soon be able to live right across the street from it.
At the intersection of Willow Street and Oxford Street — the former site of the First Indemnity Insurance Group — Dan Rubin, a Boston-based real estate developer, is building a six-story, 30-unit apartment building.
Rubin bought the First Indemnity Insurance building on 87 Oxford St. for $1.15 million, before demolishing it in December. He said that his development company HR Ventures, LLC typically works on smaller projects around Boston, but went to Lynn to build larger complexes.
“The bigger the city, the more complexities come with development, and the longer things take. We had been doing, namely, up to eight units in Boston. And so we did want to kind of go to that next level when it came to larger developments,” Rubin said. “The City of Lynn has been a pretty big proponent of building and wanting to grow community development.”
The estimated $10 million development is scheduled for completion, Rubin said, by the end of the year. It will consist of 30 one-bedroom units with small balconies, a rooftop terrace, and 2,000 square feet of retail store space on the first floor, required by Lynn zoning laws.
“They require commercial space on the first floor, and I think that’s a really, really smart idea to help build kind of a walkable city, a walkable community, and get people out. If you don’t have businesses to go to, then nobody’s going to want to live here,” Rubin said.
The building, Rubin said, will be pushed from its property line to lengthen the sidewalk and accommodate pedestrian traffic. City Planner Aaron Clausen said that the building’s architecture “fits perfectly” with the city’s goal to make its streets more pedestrian and cyclist friendly.
HR Ventures purchased the building prior to passage of the city’s Inclusionary Zoning act, which requires all new developments in the city to include affordable units, or donate to the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
Rubin said that while he understands the need for affordable housing in the city, he does not think it would be a tenable option for a 30-unit complex.
“We wanted to do something, but it wasn’t realistic. I would say in a larger development, like 150 units, 200 units or more, it’s a lot easier to absorb affordable units into the overall development costs. In a 30-unit project, it just wouldn’t pencil out — we wouldn’t be able to get funding for it,” Rubin said.
Apartment rental prices, Rubin said, will start at approximately $1,900 per month. He said that his goal was to create a “Boston-style” building right in the heart of Lynn.
“It’s something that no other development in Lynn has right now where you can open up the door, you can at least walk out and immerse yourself into the city and into the downtown, and kind of get that indoor/outdoor feel in an apartment in downtown Lynn,” he said.
Rubin said that he has already signed a letter of agreement with Beyond Walls to commission mural artists to paint one of the building’s windowless sides.
“We thought that would be a great opportunity to get Beyond Walls involved and have them come and procure artists to put a mural on the side of the building — that will bring a sense of community and downtown Lynn’s artsy vibe to the building as well,” he said.
Rubin said that while he has not yet planned his next development project, it is very likely that he will build in Lynn in the future.
“We hope to keep working in Lynn. The city has been really great to work with — we haven’t had any issues, everybody’s been super nice and super responsive, and super helpful. It’s definitely been a breath of fresh air working in Lynn versus Boston,” Rubin said.
