New owners aim to jumpstart Canton condo projects
By Jay Turner
A rendering of the Copperworks condominiums at the Revere Heritage Site courtesy of Thorndike Development
The Canton housing market could soon see an influx of new inventory with several major condominium developments expected to break ground in 2019 after lengthy delays.
Three in particular — at the Paul Revere Heritage site, at the former Emerson and Cuming property on Washington Street, and at the Connor’s Wayside building on Route 138 — either have approvals in hand or are down to the last few hurdles before construction can commence. All three projects are now under new ownership, and each ownership group is highly motivated and eager to proceed to the building stage, according to zoning attorney Paul Schneiders, who represents all three clients.
The largest of the developments, the newly named Copperworks project at the Revere Heritage site, recently secured zoning board approval for a series of minor site plan modifications and is expected to begin taking orders for units this winter with construction getting underway in early spring. The long-awaited residential project, which will be immediately adjacent to the town-owned Revere cultural complex and park, is now being led by Thorndike Development, an award-winning, Massachusetts-based home builder with a 35-year track record in the greater Boston area.
While the original developer, Canton Holdings LLC, will continue to be involved with the development and oversee the agreed-upon infrastructure upgrades, Thorndike has acquired the residential portion of the project consisting of 212 for-sale condominium units. (A separate, 60-unit age-restricted apartment building is also slated to be built on the site sometime before June of 2020.)
Specific to the condo project, dubbed “Copperworks” as an homage to the Revere copper mill that once stood on the site, Thorndike will largely follow the previously approved site plan and construct the project in phases, starting with two 36-unit buildings (phases one and two) on the easterly side of the property closest to Revere Street. The next phase will consist of another 36-unit building and 19 townhouses on the Neponset Street side abutting the diversion channel, with the final phase adding another 85 units on the northern end of the site.
The minor modifications approved by the ZBA include slight changes to the architecture and footprint of the first two buildings, a shifting of six units from phase four to phase two; realignment of the wall along Factory Pond to reduce riverfront impacts; and the addition of individual garages that will be built at grade along the rear of each building. The buildings will also contain an open parking area and a mail room on the same level as the garages with an elevator leading to the upper floors.
Other notable changes to the building design include shifting the front doors from the rear of the buildings to the side facing the new main artery through the project (Revolution Way); construction of sidewalks along the front of the buildings; addition of individual outdoor spaces for all first-floor units; and the addition of solar panels and a roof deck atop each building that promises “spectacular” views from either side.
Each of the larger buildings, according to Thorndike, will contain a mix of one- and two-bedroom units ranging in size from 804 to 1,658 square feet. Above the parking level will be three floors of residences, consisting of six units in the front and six in the back on each floor. Thorndike hopes to have a sales trailer installed on the property by sometime in January with construction commencing in March of 2019.
Meanwhile, a half-mile drive away on another former factory site with a rich industrial past, plans are in the works to construct a 57-unit condominium development within the Canton Center Economic Opportunity District at 869 Washington Street. Located on the site of the former Emerson and Cuming factory …
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Posted by Jay Turner
on Nov 30 2018. Filed under Business.
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