New housing development rises from a historic textile mill’s ashes

After a fire recently swept through a historic textile factory originally known as Malden Mills, several of the site’s buildings, built between 1879 and 1925, were destroyed. From the destruction of these buildings, a new concept for a multifamily housing development was born.

Loft Five50 will be a LEED certified 137-unit housing development that will offer studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom units. As part of the redevelopment plan, The Architectural Team, the project’s architect, worked with the National Register of Historic Places and the Massachusetts Historic Commission to restore many of the mill’s historic features. Original, restored features include a clock tower, high wooden ceilings, oversized windows, exposed brick walls, and a vintage staircase.

Loft Five50’s amenities include a 15,000-sf community room, a communal kitchen with entertainment space, Wi-Fi lounges, a fitness/yoga facility, a movie theater, an outdoor patio, and an indoor children’s play area. The living units and communal spaces all feature Nora Lighting’s NT-300 Series Single Track Lighting Systems with energy efficient Step Cylinder LED fixtures.

Ideal Design was the interior designer for the project and Keith Construction was the general contractor. Winn Development owns the project.

Roughly one in three office buildings in the largest U.S. cities are well suited to be converted to multifamily residential properties, according to a study by global real estate firm Avison Young. Some 6,206 buildings across 10 U.S. cities present viable opportunities for conversion to residential use.

The Shipyard Condos

Multifamily Housing | May 19, 2023

Biden administration beefs up energy efficiency standards on new federally funded housing

The Biden Administration recently moved to require more stringent energy efficiency standards on federally funded housing projects. Developers building homes with taxpayer funds will have to construct to the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) 2021 for low-density housing and American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers ASHRAE 90.1 for multi-family projects.

Shear Wall Selection for Wood-Framed Buildings

From wall bracing to FTAO, there are many ways to secure the walls of a building. Learn how to evaluate which method is best for a project.

A woman uses her iPhone to access the elevator and her apartment door.

The Key To Multifamily Access Control — Consistent Resident Experiences

Explore the challenges of multifamily access control and discover the key to consistent user experiences with a resident-first approach and open platforms.

Affordable Housing | May 17, 2023

Affordable housing advocates push for community-owned homes over investment properties

Panelists participating in a recent webinar hosted by the Urban Institute discussed various actions that could help alleviate the nation’s affordable housing crisis. Among the possible remedies: inclusionary zoning policies, various reforms to increase local affordable housing stock, and fees on new development to offset the impact on public infrastructure.

Multifamily Housing | May 16, 2023

Legislators aim to make office-to-housing conversions easier

Lawmakers around the country are looking for ways to spur conversions of office space to residential use.cSuch projects come with challenges such as inadequate plumbing, not enough exterior-facing windows, and footprints that don’t easily lend themselves to residential use. These conditions raise the cost for developers.