Image courtesy of NEI General Contracting.

A former Cambridge church converted to affordable multifamily housing replaced with a new, fully affordable building after the original was destroyed in a massive fire three years ago.

The building at 50 York St. is owned by Just-A-Start, a community development corporation active in Cambridge and nearby communities.

NEI General Contracting was the general contractor for the 3-story replacement building.

Firefighters battled a 10-alarm fire in the Wellington-Harrington neighborhood of Cambridge for around 12 hours on Dec. 3, 2016. The blaze jumped from building to building and ultimately involved 18 structures, including St. Patrick’s Apartments. Built in 1909, St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church was converted to affordable housing in 1991 and it featured a large, open bell tower and several stained-glass windows. Built on the footprint of the former building, the newly constructed 50 York Street has restored 16 affordable housing units to replace those destroyed by the fire.

“Just-A-Start is proud to include NEI on the list of partners who all worked together to rebuild 50 York St. after the devastating fire In December 2016,” Just-A-Start Executive Director Deborah Ruhe said in a statement. “Thanks to the team that worked together for over two years after the fire, we have been able to rebuild the 16 affordable units and provide 16 families with safe, affordable homes for their families.”

The rebuild of 50 York Street is a part of Just-A-Start’s larger Consolidation Project, preserving a total of 112 affordable housing units at sites across Cambridge.

The building was designed by Winslow Architects to reflect the scale and style of the triple-deckers typical of the surrounding neighborhood. The project was completed in May 2019 and is currently occupied by the original tenants.