PARTING SHOTS
APARTMENT FINANCE TODAY • MARCH 2008
New Boston Changing
Old Salem Jail Plan
Historic tax credits mean that former plans
for this once all-condo project have changed,
but only for five years.
By Dana Enfinger
Salem, Mass.—Construction
is slated to begin this
May on the Old Salem Jail
property. Except now the
plan is to turn most of the
units into rental apartments
not condos, thanks
to the struggling real estate
market.
New Boston Ventures, a Boston-based
developer, was chosen by the
city about two years ago to convert the
abandoned nearly 200-year-old jail
into condominiums, a restaurant, and a
jail exhibit. No rental units were part of
the original plans. The developer plans
to add seven housing units, expanding
the project from 29 to 36 total units.
Twenty-two units will be leased as
apartments for five years, then converted
to condos. The remaining units will
be sold as condos.
Maintaining the units as apartments
for at least five years allows New
Boston to snag historic tax credits. The
jail, which locals claim is haunted,
dates back to 1813; it closed in 1991.
Other changes to the plan include
more parking and a different restaurant.
Originally, New Boston said the
project would include a French bistro.
But David Goldman, New Boston’s
principal, said a new restaurant is in
the works. Goldman is a former aide to
the late Sen. Paul Tsongas.
The condo units are expected to sell
for between $300,000 and $700,000.
Rents have not been disclosed.
With all the changes made by New
Boston, the city of Salem is still very
much onboard. City Council members,
the Salem Redevelopment Authority,
and other local agencies have praised
the project.
The historic tax credit financing
was a “creative solution to a challenging
market situation,” according to
Barbara Cleary, president of Historic
Salem, Inc., a nonprofit architectural
preservation organization.
“We feel that since the market has
changed so dramatically, they’re going
to need the extra units to make this
project viable,” Jessica Herbert of the
Salem Historical Commission said at a
recent meeting of the Salem
Redevelopment Authority, where
Goldman presented his changes to
New Boston’s plans for the granite jail
on St. Peter Street.
A few citizens voiced concerns
about parking and traffic. Officials
from an adjacent Catholic church
expressed concerns that residents
would park in their parking lot. St.
John the Baptist Church, which holds
evening events, owns a large parking
lot next to the jail.
New Boston agreed to ease parking
issues during the construction phase
by providing five parking passes to the
Museum Place Mall garage for residents
at a nearby seniors housing facility
and seven permanent passes in the
city garage for residents at the jail
property once the development is completed.
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