A rendering provided by Mass Audubon shows what a hypothetical combined housing-and-parkland development on the Fobres site in Chelsea could look like. Mass Audubon says it still needs to conduct community outreach before filing a formal development proposal. Image courtesy of Mass Audubon
Mass Audubon hopes to acquire an 18-acre Chelsea property previously eyed for large-scale development, with plans for mixed-income housing and a waterfront park that demonstrates the latest thinking in coastal resiliency.
A Suffolk Superior Court judge approved Mass Audubon’s acquisition of the four parcels on Forbes Street and Crescent Avenue along Chelsea Creek, but the developer that bought the property in 2014 is seeking to overturn the ruling.
On March 25, the court approved the Audubon Society’s proposal to acquire the property. Mass Audubon is partnering with The Neighborhood Developers and environmental group GreenRoots, both of Chelsea, on the acquisition with plans for a mixed-income housing project on 5 acres and climate-resilient parkland.
In a February court filing, receiver L. Alexandra Hogan recommended sale of the property to the Audubon partnership for nearly $8.4 million.
The current owner, Ken He, has filed an appeal of the Superior Court ruling. He acquired the property in 2014 and received approval in 2019 for a 590-unit housing project, which never went forward.
In September, He entered an agreement to list the property for sale for $30 million, according to court filings, a price that the receiver calls inflated.
“This offer will repay the taxpayers of Chelsea, clean up the property and provide a reasonable development for the site. Defendants have had ample opportunity to suggest a viable alternative, but have failed to do so,” Judge Matthew Nestor wrote in the March 25 decision.
The property has been vacant for two decades, and a huge fire destroyed two former lithograph factory buildings on the site in November 2024. That prompted city officials to pursue a court-appointed receiver to oversee a sale.
In an announcement this week, the Audubon Society said it plans to restore the property as a park designed to withstand rising sea levels while creating 225 units of mixed-income housing, although a detailed development proposal won’t be submitted to the city without community input. The project would include a nature center, restoration of wetlands and a living shoreline that would buffer the site from flooding.
“As we work to create more waterfront access and green space, and achieve environmental justice, we see that this parcel offers multiple opportunities for the community that we are excited to realize,” GreenRoots Executive Director Roseann Bongiovanni said in a statement.
The site may require extensive environmental remediation because of its industrial past, Audubon Society executives said.
