Photo courtesy of POAH

A Boston nonprofit will launch a building renovation program in 2025 to address deferred maintenance following its acquisition of a downtown Lynn senior housing community.

Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH) paid $9.4 million for the 429 Washington St. complex, previously known as the Sweetser Block.

The former shoe factory built in 1874 was converted into apartments and a pair of ground-floor commercial spaces in the early 1980s. The building includes 44 units of Section 8 housing.

The Life Initiative, a Boston-based community investment fund, provided acquisition financing in partnership with Boston-based Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC).

POAH plans to begin a capital improvement campaign in late 2025 that will include window and roof replacements, safety and HVAC overhauls and upgrades to unit kitchens and bathrooms.

“The acquisition and preservation of the Olympia Square Apartments in Lynn is a major accomplishment by POAH and will provide much needed affordable housing in the community,” CEDAC Executive Director Roger Herzog said in a statement.

The seller was Olympia Square Assoc. LP, which lists Wellesley-based Warner Services and Nebel Management Corp. of Fall River as general partners.

POAH owns and operates more than 13,000 affordable apartments nationwide, including 3,700 in Massachusetts.