Historic school renovated to create housing for seniors
NEI General Contracting, an award-winning general contractor firm, announced today it has completed the Mary D. Stone Apartments, a mixed-income community with 55 units for seniors 62 and older located at 10 Church Street in Auburn, Mass. for Pennrose. A grand opening ceremony was held on May 5, 2022.
The historic redevelopment plan of the 1920s school building includes the renovation of the historic school, demolition of later built additions, and construction of a new addition. The new community offers studio, one- and two-bedroom affordable, and market rate apartment homes. Eighty percent of the units at Mary D. Stone Apartments will be available for seniors at or below 60% of the area median income (AMI), starting at $29,550. The remaining 20% of units will be leased at market rate rents.
“We selected NEI for its extensive experience with both historic renovations and building affordable multi-family developments,” said Charlie Adams, regional vice president at Pennrose. “Seniors are one of the groups most vulnerable to our nation’s affordable housing crisis. We are thrilled to open the doors to a safe, affordable community where seniors can live vibrant lives and remain active members of the community.”
The contemporary apartments feature modern kitchen finishes with electric range and dishwasher, spacious closets, central A/C, on-site laundry facilities, and 24-hour emergency maintenance. Residents also enjoy ample community amenities, including secured access entry, professionally landscaped grounds, on-site management, and inviting community lounges and public meeting space.
NEI paid special attention to blending the historic finishes from the existing school into the new addition, by reusing doors from the original school and recreating entry doors to match and meet accessibility requirements. To keep new rooftop equipment from being visible as best as possible from street and surrounding areas, NEI built several small mock-ups to keep mechanical equipment from being visible from the existing building roof and ductwork that services the common areas of the addition rooftop. With a company-wide commitment to DEI, NEI exceeded the goal for MBE/WBE contractor and minority work force participation on this project. We were able to give over 30% of Contract dollars to MBE or WBE subcontractors and additionally over 45% of the labor hours were performed by workers of color.
The project team for the Mary D. Stone Apartments includes:
- Owner/Developer/Property Manager: Pennrose
- Architect: DiMella Shaffer
- CM: NEI General Contracting
- Civil Engineer: Nitsch Engineering
- MEP/FP Engineer: AKF
- Structural Engineer: L.A. Fuess Partners
- Landscape Architect: Crowley Cottrell, LLC
About NEI General Contracting
NEI is a privately held company committed to affordable housing with extensive experience in ground-up, moderate rehab, elderly, veteran, historic rehab, historic tax credit and tax credit projects. Providing a full spectrum of general contracting and construction management services to clients throughout the United States.
NEI has three regional offices, to help better serve its clients: Boston to serve the Northeast, Florida to serve the Southeast, and Texas to serve the Southwest.
Founded in 1998 on the principles of integrity, diligence, and building for good, we have opened the door to over 20,000 newly homed and hopeful families, giving them a chance for a better quality of life. We’re building for good because everyone deserves a good home. We’re building for good because that’s the right way to do it. For more information, please visit www.neigc.com.
