Parkside Commons, a new 4-story community of 238 apartments, is 60 percent rented.
Chelsea’s condo market is in a tail spin as sales fell by 49 percent in the first half of 2008, but rentals at the city’s newest luxury apartments buildings are booming.
More than 1,600 apartments are under construction or in the planning stages in the blue collar city 2 miles north of Boston. Developers say Chelsea is shedding its troubled image in the shadow of the Mystic River Bridge and attracting young professionals priced out of downtown Boston.
“Obviously Chelsea has had its difficulties, but they have come out of it like no one else,” said Thomas Albert, vice president John M. Corcoran & Co., the Braintree developer that recently opened Parkside Commons where rents range from $1,300 for a studio to $2,400 for a three-bedroom.
Corcoran is not the only developer investing in Chelsea. JPI, a Dallas company with offices in Southborough, is approved for 440-units at two sites including Jefferson at Admiral’s Hill, where a waterfront two-bedroom unit will cost $2,230. Chelsea Neighborhood Developers, a non-profit community development corporation, is building apartments in the Box District, a neighborhood that runs along Broadway where box and mattress manufacturing companies were housed.
Thomas O’Brien, JPI’s managing partner, said while Boston has the most units under development, Chelsea could be second.
“There are two big reasons,” he said. “It’s close to Boston, and you can permit a $75 million multi-family housing project in less than a year.”
Not Far North
As new Boston apartment communities such as 1330 Boylston St. offer one-bedrooms starting at $2,575, Chelsea builders are convinced they can offer a lower price with the same amenities just 4 miles from the Financial District.
If Chelsea succeeds, it won’t be the first time the community has rebounded. In 1973, a fire destroyed 18 city blocks, and the 40 desolate acres have been replaced with offices, banks, a shopping center and a hotel. The city emerged from state receivership in 1995 following bankruptcy. Since then, the city has built schools, balanced its budget and made development a priority. Last month, after two decades of school management by Boston University, city officials took control of the district’s 5,500 students.
But despite the progress, Chelsea’s MCAS scores are still near the bottom. The city’s 10th-graders ranked 269 out of 283 school districts in English, and 275th in math.
And crime continues to be a big concern in a city of 35,080 people. From 2004 though 2006, Chelsea had 1,703 violent crimes, including five murders, according to the Massachusetts State Police. Everett, a city of comparable size, had 868 violent crimes in the same period.
Still, Jay Ash, the city’s longtime manager, likes to tell the story of how if he attended a cocktail party a decade ago, 10 out of 10 people had disparaging things to say about the city. “Today, it’s four out of 10, so we’re making steady progress,” he said with a laugh.
