Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH) has acquired Olympia Square Apartments, a 44-unit, 100% Section 8, fully occupied senior housing building in Lynn, just north of Boston. Formerly known as the Sweetser Block, the building was constructed in 1874 and originally housed a shoe manufacturing operation. The property was converted to apartments during the early 1980s and has two ground-floor commercial tenants.
With its convenient location in the center of downtown Lynn and just a short walk from an MBTA commuter-rail station, Olympia Square has always enjoyed high levels of occupancy but in recent years it suffered from deferred maintenance and the previous owner sought a preservation-minded buyer with the capacity to recapitalize it.
Olympia Square is home to a diverse and active group of seniors who love their building and community but wanted to see improvements. The renovations will include full window and roof replacement, life-safety and HVAC overhauls, and upgrades to apartment kitchens and bathrooms. The start of that work is targeted for late 2025.
“Creating new opportunities for affordable housing, and preserving long-term affordability of existing housing, are central components of CEDAC’s mission. 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,” said Roger Herzog, Executive Director of the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC).
“CEDAC was proud to partner with POAH and our participating lender, The Life Initiative, to provide critical acquisition financing that will help to advance the project’s development and looks forward to continuing to work with them and other state and community partners as the project moves forward.”
Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH) is a nonprofit developer, owner and operator of more than 13,000 affordable rental apartments nationwide (3,700 in Massachusetts including 711 north of Boston). POAH’s primary mission is to preserve, create and sustain affordable, healthy homes that support economic security, racial equity, and access to opportunity for all. www.poah.org