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

Mosaic Named Finalist for ULI Kemp Award

Mosaic on the Riverway was recently named a finalist of the Urban Land Institute 2017 Jack Kemp Excellence in Workforce and Affordable Housing Award. The national award recognizes exemplary developments that ensure housing affordability for people withe a range of incomes. Mosaic on the Riverway consists of 60 affordable rental units, 43 affordable condominium units, and 42 market condominium units, serving formerly homeless households, to those paying market rate. 

The winner will be formally announced at ULI's Housing Opportunity Conference in New Orleans this fall. 

ULI's press release can be found here. 

Mosaic Complete, Market Rate Condos 100% Sold

Mosaic on the Riverway recently obtained it's certificate of occupancy and has moved in it's first residents over the past few weekends. The 42 market rate condominiums are 100% sold, the affordable condominiums are being processed for sale through the lottery in August, and we expect occupancy of the 60 affordable rental units this month. 

In addition to a residential lobby, the ground floor features a 9,000 SF early education center scheduled to open in the Spring of 2017. 

For more information about the project visit here.

Mosaic on the Riverway Now Selling, Topping Off Celebration

Today, we celebrated a 'topping off' of the steel at Mosaic with Mayor Marty Walsh, Councilor Zakim, and Undersecretary Chrystal Kornegay. Photos are below. 

The topping off marks a significant milestone in the construction of the aptly named, Mosaic on the Riverway development, which will provide 60 Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) rental units, 43 affordable condominiums and 42 market-rate condominiums. Bringing much needed high-quality market rate and affordable for-sale and rental housing options for the diverse and growing workforce of the Longwood Medical area, the project also includes a childcare center that will serve approximately 100 children.

Funders for the project include Bank of America, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, the City of Boston, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, The Roxbury Tenants of Harvard, Inc., Boston Community Capital and the Massachusetts Housing Partnership.

The project is slated for completion in 2016. The market-rate condominiums are now for sale through Advisors Living, the project’s exclusive broker and www.mosaicbostoncondos.com. The affordable rental and homeownership marketing will start in the spring of 2016.  

 In addition, the sales office is now open and the interest in the market rate condominiums has been tremendous!

Traggorth Companies serves as project manager for the Mosaic. 

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Box District Wins National ULI Award

Dave was down in New York City this past week with Ann Houston, Executive Director of The Neighborhood Developers, and Jay Ash, Chelsea's City Manager, at the Urban Land Institute for their Fall Meeting where it was announced that the Box District won the Jack Kemp Excellence in Affordable and Workforce Housing Award which celebrates and promotes the exemplary efforts of real estate and public policy leaders from across the country who are working to expand affordable and workforce housing opportunities.

We are incredibly thankful to all of our partners that helped envision the Box District - Mitchell Properties, the City of Chelsea, and The Neighborhood Developers - for the opportunity to help create this amazing neighborhood. TC provided project management services for Atlas Lofts, the Flats at 44, and the Flats at 22. 

(L to R) Jay Ash (City of Chelsea), Dave Traggorth (Traggorth Companies), Ann Houston (The Neighborhood Developers), Marty Jones (MassDevelopment), and Sarah Barnat (ULI New England)

A video of the finalists in the 2014 ULI Terwilliger Center for Housing awards. Learn more about the program and past winners at http://on.uli.org/1yHObRO

Flats at 22 Construction Continues!

Concrete foundations are going in this week in preparation for an August modular box set! A panoramic from the site visit today in Chelsea. The building will feature 40+ underground parking spaces with 50 apartments above. The site is immediately adjacent to the future Silver Line extension and Box District Station.

RTH Awarded State's First Homeownership Resources in Years

Governor Patrick announced Friday in Uphams Corner that our client, the Roxbury Tenants of Harvard, which is redeveloping a portion of the former Massachusetts Mental Health Hospital site in Boston's Longwood Medical Area, will receive critical State funding for 43 new affordable condominiums in the project. This funding is the first in Massachusetts for affordable homeownership since before the recession in 2008. 

The 43 condominiums are part of a larger multi-family project which will consist of 60 units of affordable rental housing, 43 units of affordable condominiums, and 42 units of market-rate condominiums. The building, which will be 11 stories tall, and is designed by ADD Inc., will sit on a one acre lot next to the Brigham's Building of the Future which is currently under construction.

TC provides RTH with turnkey project management services related to this project and assisted with application and preparation for the State funding rounds. 

For more about the announcement, click here.

Rendering from Fenwood Road and Binney Street looking toward Brookline Ave.

Overall site plan and neighborhood context

Governor Patrick Opens Flats at 44

Last Wednesday morning, Governor Patrick visited the Flats at 44 to cut the ribbon (only four units remain!) and put a shovel in the ground at the Flats at 22 (opening November 2014). The Governor was also joined by Secretary Greg Bialecki, Undersecretary Aaron Gornstein, Senator Sal DiDomenico, Representative Dan Ryan, and Representative RoseLee Vincent. 

During his keynote speech at the event, Governor Patrick spoke about making investments like those made in the Box District as a catalyst for growth in Massachusetts. You can read more about his remarks here. 

In addition, we honored Rufus Phillips, Peter Hollands, and Kristin Blum who all provided key predevelopment and acquisition loans early in the project when it took a lot more vision to see what was possible. 

Both projects expand on the previous successes within the Box District, an award-winning revitalization of a once vacant and blighted industrial area into a vibrant mixed income community. The revitalization was conceived by the City of Chelsea, The Neighborhood Developers, and Mitchell Properties, a highly successful public/non-profit/private partnership formed around this effort. With public and private funding seven new residential properties have been built over the past ten years providing high-quality, safe, and attractive housing for families, young professionals, and retirees. Residents are attracted by the Box District’s proximity to Boston and Cambridge workplaces, transit, and public amenities such as the Box District Park, installed and dedicated in 2013 by the City of Chelsea. In addition, The Flats at 44 is the first building to be completed utilizing the Commonwealth’s Housing Development Incentive Program, a program that provides Gateway Cities like Chelsea with a development tool to increase residential growth, expand diversity of housing stock, support economic development and promote neighborhood stabilization.

Construction for Flats at 44 started in July 2013 and opened to new residents in March 2014. The building offers studios, one-bedrooms, and two-bedroom homes and is over 80% leased. Flats at 22 recently started construction and is anticipated to open in the Fall of 2014. Each apartment comes fully equipped with stainless steel energy efficient appliances, in-home washer/dryer, hardwood flooring, gas cooktop, granite counters, 42” cabinets, 9-foot, and expansive windows. Amenities include a fitness center, a roof deck along and off-street covered parking.  

TC/MP Close on The Flats at 44

Mitchell Properties and Traggorth Companies is pleased to announce the closing on construction financing for The Flats at 44. Construction lending is provided by The Property & Casualty Initiative and Northeast Interiors is the General Contractor. 

The Flats at 44 is a unique project in that it will be the first modular construction project completed by TC/MP utilizing KBS out of South Paris, Maine. Starting in the end of August, construction will begin at the factory in Maine with scheduled placement at the end of October.

The Flats at 44 is just the first phase with a planned construction closing of the Flats at 22 later this year.  

Traggorth Companies has managed the design, planning, and financial closing on behalf of Mitchell Properties, and will continue through construction and lease-up. Stay tuned for more pictures and updates as the project progresses.

Standard Box Awarded State Funds

We couldn't be more thrilled to share the news that The Standard Box Apartments, a Mitchell Properties project in Chelsea, MA, was awarded DHCD housing subsidies and low-income housing tax credits this past Thursday. TC staff assembled the application on behalf of Mitchell Properties and will perform project management services through completion of the project. 

Now that the awards are in hand, expect to see rapid developments and updates here and at mitchprop.com as the project moves forward towards a construction start!

For more information about the awards visit DHCD's press release here.