LYNN — The Solimine House, a new affordable senior housing development on Lynnfield Street, is scheduled to open in the fall of 2027.
The vision for how to better the Lynn community began long ago. In 2007, Mary Jane and David J. Solimine Sr. were the lead donors of the Healing Gardens at Union Hospital, which was dedicated that same year. The hospital’s emergency department was then named in honor of them and their dedication to community service and philanthropy.
When the North Shore Medical Center closed Union Hospital in 2020, their son, David J. Solimine Jr. purchased the property with the purpose of having it remain as a place for Lynn.
“My parents set the guidelines years ago,” said Solimine Jr. “We’re part of this community.”
Solimine Jr.’s decision to submit a bid was based on the Union Hospital Re-use Planning Study, which was managed by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council and revealed that the Lynn residents preferred senior housing. It’s something both Solimine Jr. and his wife, Magnolia Contreras, had also discussed.
“[We] had talked about how sad it is that many of our older residents sometimes have to leave the city for all kinds of reasons, but mostly it’s because the lack of support of how expensive housing has become in our city,” said Contreras, who is currently the vice president of community health at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
With her background in healthcare and Solimine Jr.’s in property development, they decided to pursue the venture with the intention of truly serving Lynn’s elderly community. This then led them to partner with 2Life Communities, a non-profit that was founded in 1965 that deeply shared their same mission in providing not just housing, but putting the Lynn community at the forefront.
2Life Communities is also redeveloping 19 Porter St. into 114 apartments at the former Thurgood Marshall Middle School site, and construction is set to begin prior to the completion of Solimine House.
Together, they’ve set out to create a space where seniors can both live and thrive, all while receiving affordable access to everything that will improve their quality of life, from health services to social activities.
“What we’re really about is using the platform of community living to bring joy and connection to people, because it’s really – as covid taught us isolation is a killer, and for older adults, in particular, isolation and loneliness has been shown to accelerate rates of dementia and heart disease and diabetes and many other kind of health conditions that that older adults face,” explained 2Life’s President Lizbeth Heyer.
Through connection and purpose and the kind of joy that comes from sharing your life with others, it’s proven that people’s lives are longer and they live better.”
With construction already underway, the Solimine House will feature everything from 150 new units of affordable housing to a “village center” on the ground floor, equipped with a multipurpose room, fitness space and areas to gather, including outdoor spaces and gardens. The campus will also include Element Care’s PACE (Program for All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) center, which is named after Contreras herself. Located right next door, it will provide health and home care resources to low-income people over the age of 55.
A walkway will connect the center to the Solimine House, which perfectly encapsulates how each partner – from the Solimines to 2Life and Element Care, as well all of the support they’ve received from the City of Lynn, the Lynn Housing Authority & Neighborhood Development, both state and federal agencies and a multitude of philanthropic partners – are working together to bridge the gap for elderly housing and community-led initiatives.
“I get so excited when I see a new banner up and all the partners that are working together to make this reality,” Magnolia said. “It’s going to be an emotional moment when this is done.”
Solimine Jr. added, “I’m excited each day because I live in the neighborhood, so I drive by every day. I’m excited to see the progress.”
