Gov. Maura Healey recognizes former Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, standing, while dignitaries including Lupoli Companies CEO Sal Lupoli, left, applaud during a groundbreaking of a 300-unit apartment complex in Littleton. Photo courtesy of the Massachusetts governor's office / Handout
Groundbreakings of large-scale developments are becoming infrequent in Massachusetts, and one that took place in Littleton illustrated the growing list of hurdles.
Lupoli Companies has begun construction of a 300-unit apartment building in the first phase of its King Street project. The project could eventually include 2 million square feet of commercial and residential space.
But the start of work on the first building required public funding for a new sewage treatment plant that will serve Lupoli’s project and other properties in the Littleton Common area. Amid opposition to housing development in many suburbs, the Lawrence-based developer received town meeting approval in 2022 for a zone change allowing more than 1,000 apartments. Trade wars could drive up construction costs further.
“People look at development, they say, why haven’t certain developers started?” CEO Sal Lupoli said during Monday’s groundbreaking ceremony at 550 King St. “Take a look at inflation. Take a look at how much it costs to borrow money today. Take a look at the rising cost of some of these expenses in construction. And then all of a sudden, you’re adding some challenges, right? You’re adding some tariffs now. And you know, I just believe that there will always be an issue that you have to overcome.”
Following Lupoli Companies’ acquisition of the IBM-anchored office campus in 2022, the challenges included filling 600,000 square feet of vacant commercial space. Hiper Global leased 72,500 square feet in 2024, and Gardner-based Precision Optics Corp. recently leased an additional 20,000 square feet.
Lack of water and sewer service in outlying suburbs inhibits multifamily housing development, including towns required to comply with the MBTA Communities zoning law. Last year, the state legislature rejected a $1 billion bond authorization to expand the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority’s service area, which would have enabled more multifamily development.
The Littleton sewer project received $10 million in ARPA funding and $3 million from the Massachusetts Clean Water Trust. It’s designed to serve approximately 100 residential and commercial properties in the Littleton Common area, including the Lupoli project.
The 50-acre site includes a former IBM-anchored office campus and a restaurant property near the Interstate 495 interchange, and two smaller commercial properties. The full buildout includes nearly 1,100 housing units, a 150-room hotel and 115,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space.
“It’s really important for our state, because it shows what’s possible,” said Gov. Maura Healey, citing her administration’s goal of creating 220,000 new housing units to address Massachusetts’ affordability crisis. ‘And it turns out you can have kick-ass economic development. You can bring in more housing, you can create more vibrancy, and all of our residents are going to do well by it.”
Lupoli founded the Sal’s Pizza chain and has built a large Merrimack Valley real estate portfolio including the Riverwalk mill complex in Lawrence and developments in downtown Haverhill.
Completion of the first apartment building at King Street is scheduled for 2028, Lupoli said. A retail village with apartments above shops and restaurants is planned on the parking lots in front of the former IBM buildings, and could begin when roughly half of the residential space is completed.
“There’s a lot of traction right now for the retail, so we’re keeping our fingers crossed that once we get 50 percent into the residential component we may be able to break ground on the retail,” he said.
Image courtesy of Lupoli Companies
