WinnDevelopment on Friday held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Counting House Lofts community in Lowell, an adaptive reuse of a 147-year-old building into mixed-income housing. WinnDevelopment is the development arm of WinnCompanies.
Counting House Lofts is a 90,242-square-foot, mixed-income development with 76,095 square feet of residential space comprising 26 affordable and 26 market-rate apartments. The affordable units are restricted to households earning an income between 30 to 60 percent of the area median income. The 14,147 square feet of commercial space is occupied by Metta Clinic, a subsidiary of the Lowell Community Health Center.
The $11.7 million project created approximately 340 construction jobs. More than 70 percent of the subcontractors were based in the Merrimack Valley, and more than half of the construction job hours were performed by minority workers.
All 52 units of Counting House Lofts are occupied. WinnResidential, the property management arm of WinnCompanies, will manage the property.
“Counting House Lofts is an example of how Winn can work with urban planners to transform vacant historic buildings into vibrant communities that strengthen civic and economic vitality,” Larry Curtis, president and managing partner of WinnDevelopment, said in a statement. “We’re proud to be a part of Lowell’s revitalization and the city’s effort to develop more housing without sacrificing its history. We look forward to continuing our partnership with the city of Lowell on future projects.”
The Architectural Team served as the architect on the project and Dellbrook Construction LLC was the general contractor.
The Counting House property at 109 Jackson St. is situated within the Downtown Lowell Historic District administered by the Lowell Historic Board and within the Lowell National Historical Park. The project is located in Lowell’s Jackson-Appleton-Middlesex District, which seeks to reconnect the area to downtown Lowell and the historic park.
It was originally known as the Hamilton Manufacturing Co. Storehouse and Counting House. The Storehouse building was first constructed in 1868 and was connected to the Counting House in 1879. In 1927, the property was sold to Courier-Citizen Printing Co. Hamilton Manufacturing Co. buildings are a contributing resource within the Locks and Canal Historic District, a district listed in the State and National Registers of Historic Places as a National Historic Landmark.
The revitalization of Counting House Lofts is Winn’s third adaptive reuse project in Lowell. In 2007, the company redeveloped an adjacent building in the Hamilton District into Loft Two Seven, a mixed-income community featuring 173 SoHo style lofts. In 2005, Winn transformed the historic BoottMills building into a mixed-income housing community with 232 apartments and 40,000 square feet of commercial space. Both communities feature 80 percent market rate units and 20 percent affordable.
