2019: Year in Review

2019 was another fantastic year for Traggorth Companies. We had projects at every stage in the development process moving forward, delivering a transformative impact to the communities where we work. And as promised in last year’s update, we partied hard this past spring at Dan and Gen’s beautiful Maine wedding.

• In April we dipped our toe into Worcester by acquiring the smallest, most complex project we could find. While the conversion of the former Mission Chapel, near Union Station and the new WooSox ballpark into seven high end residential units will take every design and finance tool in the toolbox, we think this beautiful building with an important history is worth it.

• This fall we cut the ribbon at the Granville in Haverhill, completing construction on our second Haverhill adaptive reuse of a shoe factory along Washington Street (the first being JM Lofts). The 24 lofts are all spoken for and we’re looking forward to finding the perfect tenant for the 3,000 square feet of retail space in 2020.

• Travelling down the Haverhill commuter line to Reading, we broke ground on 24 Gould Street. Permitted under the Commonwealth’s smart growth incentive program, this project adjacent to the train stop with its 55 apartments (25% affordable) and 3,500 square feet of retail is a poster child for smart growth, transit oriented design, that Boston desperately needs.

• We’re close to wrapping up construction of the Riverhouses and Modern Mills at Cable Mills, 8 river front homes in Williamstown, Massachusetts. We cannot wait to unveil these spectacular homes in early 2020 with their massive windows, riverfront location, mountain views, and decidedly modern aesthetic. Meanwhile, the buzz around the Northern Berkshires as a great place to live, work, and play grows.

• In one of the more heartburn inducing experiences of 2019, we successfully permitted our next Chelsea project which will bring 38 affordable apartments and more than 5,000 square feet of open space along the Mill Creek. We look forward to securing the necessary financing in 2020 and starting construction in 2021.

• Last but not least, a big part of what we do on a day-to-day basis involves helping our non-profit clients align their real estate to their mission and vision. In 2019 we were honored to work with so many organizations doing good work in the Commonwealth. To name a few they are: United South End Settlements, YES, East Boston Social Centers, Southwest Boston Community Development Corp, Roxbury Tenants of Harvard, and the Eliot School.

Thank you all for supporting, encouraging, mentoring, and following our work in the way that you do. We look forward to another exciting year in 2020.

Dave, Dan and Tanya

2018: Year in Review

Our last ‘latest news’ blog posting, was last year’s ‘Year-In-Review’, so you might draw one of two conclusions — Traggorth Companies hasn’t been very busy at all, or we’ve been so busy we’ve forgotten to post about any of it on our website. If you know us, or if you follow us on Twitter (and soon Instagram), you know its the latter — not only with our work, but with our families; with Tanya's family welcoming Ida Jean in July and Dave's family welcoming August Lee in August. Dan wasn’t about to be outdone; so he and Gen were engaged earlier this year, and we’re all looking forward to a big party in 2019 to celebrate their wedding.

Our project and consulting news this year represents much of what we like best about our work: partnerships, and expanding our commitment to those communities that we know and love.

• Mayor Walsh joined us for the ribbon-cutting at the Residences at Fairmount Station’s in November. We celebrated with Southwest Boston CDC and other members of the community the completion of a project that represented the first new affordable housing in Hyde Park in 20 years.

• In September we joined Mayor Fiorentini in Haverhill at 87 Washington Street (soon to be called The Granville) to break ground on 24 market rate lofts over 3,500 square feet of retail just down the block from our enormously successful JM Lofts. We love creating spaces that drive the continuing transformation of Haverhill.

• We’ve started the construction of the Riverhouses and Modern Mills at Cable Mills, 8 river front homes in Williamstown, Massachusetts, building off of the success of the historic rehabilitation of the original mill completed back in 2016. The buzz in the Northern Berkshires, about it's natural beauty, art, and culture is undeniable and growing.

• We've partnered with The Neighborhood Developers, to bring much needed affordable housing, open space, and Mill Creek access to the Chelsea community by restoring an old muffler shop site, long since vacant at the gateway to Chelsea from Revere.

• Our consulting work continues to be largely focused on the nuts and bolts of affordable housing execution for many of our long-time clients, and we love putting our skills and relationships to work for these great organizations. While I thought that the early education center we built at the ground floor of Mosaic would be a one-off adventure, we're working on two more mixed income early education centers in the Boston area. We've found that our skills in navigating the complex finance and regulatory world of housing is quite applicable in the equally high need and high demand world of early education. Needless to say, our experiences as young parents, balancing life and work, also provides helpful perspective.

As 2018 wraps up, we thank so many of you for supporting, encouraging, mentoring, and following our work in the way that you do.

- Dave, Dan and Tanya