The John J. Meany Senior Affordable Housing Project
The YMCA of the North Shore’s mission is to strengthen communities and promote healthy living in spirit, mind and body. For over 160 years, the Y has worked side‐by‐side with its neighbors to make sure that everyone, regardless of age, income or background, has the opportunity to learn, grow and thrive. Providing affordable housing has always been a core component of the Y’s mission. The Y offers housing to adults and families looking for an affordable place to call home. For the YMCA, turning this vacant building into senior affordable housing is the next logical step in furthering its mission to strengthen the Gloucester community.
We are thrilled to redevelop 71 Middle Street, the former home to the Cape Ann YMCA, into 44 units of much‐needed affordable senior rental housing with services. The $21 million project is centrally located in the downtown historic area of Gloucester and close to many amenities as well as public transportation. The 44 units of rental housing will all be one-bedroom apartments for those age 62 and over.
For Leasing Questions: David Goodwin, Executive Director of Housing goodwind@northshoreymca.org
LATEST UPDATES!
PLEASE NOTE! HANCOCK STREET CLOSURES: Monday, April 17 - Wednesday, April 19, 7:30 am - 3:00pm
We are continuing the demolition of the old Cape Ann Y to make way for the John J Meany Senior Affordable Housing Project. Hancock Street will be closed Monday-Friday while the remainder of the debris is removed from the construction site. Thank you for your patience and cooperation.
FEBRUARY 13, 2023
We are ready for demolition! Beginning Thursday, February 16, our demolition contractor will be bringing in equipment to complete the initial building takedown. Please note that Hancock Street will be closed from 7:00 am-5:00 pm until the end of March. We look forward to sharing progress photos and videos with you soon.
JANUARY 20, 2023
We are excited to share some progress photos. In order to prepare for the new building and demolition, the construction team has been filling in the basement completing a process called shoring. This week you will see dump trucks and an excavator at the site while the team continues these operations.
JANUARY 2, 2023
Over the next few weeks activity at the site will start to pickup as we begin preparing for the building demolition. There will be material deliveries that will cause some noise with backup alarms from vehicles as well as the moving of materials. Next week, we will be working on Middle Street with some excavating activity as well. Beginning the week of 1/16, we do anticipate Hancock Street to be closed during certain periods of time for demolition. We will post more details as that gets closer!
NOISE NOTIFICATION!
Monday, December 12, and Tuesday, December 13, the constrution team will be hammering concrete on the Middle Street and Hancock Street sidewalks. As a result, there will be some jackhammer noise throughout the day. Thank you for your continued patience during this time!
Monday, December 5th - Selective demolition continues inside the building at 71 Middle St. while we await final sign offs from National Grid. This week, trench work will be completed on both Middle and Hancock Street sidewalks for the new underground drain pipe. Next week there may be some minor noise disturbance due to excavation on Middle Street. We are so excited to transform this building into senior affordable housing and support the Gloucester community.
A Friendly reminder to all or Middle St neighbors! The new John J. Meaney Affordable Housing construction site will be closed Thursday-Sunday for the Thanksgiving holiday. Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving! Also, we assure you we will do our best to post important updates here on Facebook and email neighbors who have provided their email addresses to us so they are alerted with important information including when National Grid will be back on site. We often do not get much notice from National Grid but we will certainly try to post as soon as we are made aware that they will be on site. If you would like to get email updates about the construction project, please email your email address to Jamie McGrath mcgrathj@northshoreymca.org. There will be a brief disruption on Middle Street for a drill rig to be dropped off and picked up but we do not anticipate any street closures. National Grid has notified us that they will be doing work in the area the week of December 5 that will disrupt power temporarily. Again, we will do our best to notify neighbors of any disruptions as soon as we are aware. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we transform this space into a brand new senior affordable housing space for Cape Ann residents.
Vinagro Construction will be continuing to work through the demolition of the building. The roof abatement and demolition continues. We anticipate the sidewalks on Middle and Hancock will remain closed for the duration of the project. National Grid will be onsite working on the electrical and gas decommissioning.
The project will receive low-income housing federal and state tax credit equity from the Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation, a permanent loan from North Shore Bank, a sponsor loan from the YMCA of the North Shore, and a construction loan from the Institution for Savings.
Project Team:
Windover Construction
SV Design
Affirmative Investment Management
Funding Provided by:
Department of Housing and Community Development
Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation
Institution for Savings
North Shore Bank
City of Gloucester
Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation
