Image courtesy of Dinosaur Capital and Icon Architecture
A Newton developer that plans to convert a historic downtown Boston office building into 110 apartments received construction financing from a Miami-based lender.
Dinosaur Capital Partners will update 31 Milk St. with all-electric building systems while retaining the century-old structure’s stone facade and other historic elements.
The project received $39.6 million in construction financing from Miami-based S.USA Life Insurance Company, according to a Suffolk County mortgage filed Monday.
The project also received state funding under a program designed to encourage office-to-residential conversions across the commonwealth. In January, the Healey administration awarded $4 million to the Milk Street project and $3.4 million for KS Partners to create 80 new rental units at 15 Court Square in Boston.
Completed in 1923, the 86,730 square-foot building occupies a 9,481 square-foot parcel with frontage on Milk, Hawley and Arch streets. Dinosaur Capital Partners acquired the property in 2025 for $9.55 million.
The bulk of the apartments would be one-bedroom units, and 20 percent will be income-restricted. Market-rate units would rent for $2,500 to $4,500 per month, according to an application submitted by developers to the Boston Planning Department in 2024.
The current ground floor tenant, a U.S. Post Office branch, will remain open during construction.
Developers previously said they plan to seek the building’s inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places, making the project eligible for historic tax credits offsetting the cost. The project will rebuild and restore the 20 percent of the original windows remaining in the building.
The Boston Planning & Development Agency board approved the project in May under Boston’s office to residential conversion program. The program offers property tax abatements of 75 percent for 29 years. Applications to participate are due by Dec. 31.
The city has received 29 applications for 2,331 residential units under the program. Currently, 431 housing units are under construction.
Image courtesy of Dinosaur Capital Partners
