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

2017: Year in Review

Rarely throughout the year do we pause to mark important milestones in our work, so we look forward to this time of year when we can slow down a bit to reflect on the year and look ahead. We’ve been fortunate in 2017 to lead and participate in some amazing, award winning projects and lay the groundwork for what we hope will be a productive 2018 and beyond. As we say and feel more and more every year, we are so appreciative of the many partners that we work with that make our work, and the important results it produces, possible.

• Residences at Fairmount Station, a 27 unit affordable and workforce housing project across the street from the Fairmount commuter rail station in Boston’s Hyde Park neighborhood broke ground. The foundations and utilities are in, steel is up, and the project is due to be completed in the fall of 2018, providing the first affordable housing for Hyde Park in more than two decades.
• Following our smart growth development strategy, we purchased 24 Gould Street in Reading and obtained permits this past fall. Less than 200 yards from the Reading commuter rail and located in Reading’s downtown commercial district, the project will provide 3,500 square feet of retail, 55 residential units, and amenities.
• Also next to transit, this winter and into 2018, we are advancing the permitting for a site next to Dorchester’s Shawmut Red Line stop. We’re working with neighborhood groups to realize a mixed-income homeownership project that will replace a generations old auto body shop.
• Mosaic, a project we completed in 2016 won the Urban Land Institute’s Jack Kemp Workforce Housing Award this year. We also sold the last (and 43rd) affordable unit condominium in 2017.
• We completed the moderate rehabilitation of 81 affordable apartments across 17 buildings in Mission Hill in 2017. Not only were the century old buildings restored to historic standards, but the front and rear yards were completely reimagined to provide for private and public gathering spaces for residents and a restored streetscape.
• Our partnerships with like-minded clients committed to affordable housing, smart growth, and community development remains a key aspect of our work and mission. In 2017 we expanded relationships and built new ones with organizations such as the Roxbury Tenants of Harvard, Southwest Boston CDC, Youth Enrichment Services, United South End Settlements, and the Boys and Girls Club of Brockton working on transformative real estate projects across the Commonwealth.

Residences at Fairmount Station Out of the Ground

Residences at Fairmount Station, a 27 apartment project immediately adjacent to the Fairmount Station Commuter Rail Station in Hyde Park, is progressing on schedule through construction with a late 2018 opening expected. The project is a collaboration of Traggorth Companies and Southwest Boston Community Development Corporation based in Hyde Park. 

 The $8 construction project, built by Delphi Construction  is being funded by Webster Bank, Mass Housing, the Department of Neighborhood Development, the Department of Housing and Community Development, and the National Equity Fund.

Project updates can be found on www.residencesatfairmountstation.com 

2016: Year in Review

As you'll read below, the highlights of 2016 have been numerous and we're so grateful for the opportunity to continue to advance innovative projects that push the boundaries in multi-family housing and community development. Thanks to all of our amazing partners and we look forward an equally exciting and productive 2017! 

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• On time and on budget, Mosaic wrapped up this fall. As of this writing, the 42 market rate condominiums are sold, the 60 affordable rentals are nearly full, and the 43 affordable condominium sales will wrap up in 2017. The project has been a tremendous success and most importantly will provide affordable housing near jobs and transit in Boston's Longwood Medical Area. 
• J.M. Lofts in Haverhill, completed construction in the summer and was an instant hit. It's 18 one and two-bedroom lofts were leased at record setting rents in Haverhill, and the retail is fully leased with some of the most innovative businesses in Haverhill: Battle Grounds Coffee, K Modern Furnishings, and another new, but well known Haverhill business that is already expanding. 
• Also in Haverhill, we just completed this month the permitting for 87 Washington Street, just down the street from J.M. Lofts. We're proposing 24 loft apartments with 3,000 square feet of retail. We're excited to build on the momentum happening in Haverhill.  
• We began a partnership with Southwest Boston CDC around the Residences at Fairmount Station, a 27 unit affordable rental building directly adjacent to the Fairmount commuter rail stop. The project, was awarded the necessary funds to move forward with construction in 2017 and we are proud to be associated with the first affordable housing to be built in Hyde Park in more than two decades. 
• Cable Mills completed construction in late Spring with the demand for loft apartments in Williamstown off the charts. After years of collaborative efforts to make this project happen, seeing a full building with kids and families playing by the river is one of the major highlights of 2016. 
• Given the success of Cable Mills, we've been collaborating with Merge Architects planning the River Houses at Cable Mills, our for-sale option in spectacular new construction homes along the Green River. 
• One of the best parts of our work is teaming up with amazing non-profits to help them advance their real estate objectives. We've expanded our work with Roxbury Tenants of Harvard and Asian Community Development Corp while working for the first time with Allston Brighton CDC and Youth Enrichment Services (YES!). 
• While we completed our last development project in Chelsea in 2015, we couldn't stay away for long. In the spring of this year we purchased 466 Broadway right in the center of Bellingham Square. An all affordable, historic building with ground floor retail, we're undertaking repairs to improve the resident's quality of life and planning for the future of this great building in a great city that we love.
• And last but not least, we've welcomed Dave Danker to the team this year as an Asset Manager as we continue to operate and always improve our growing portfolio.