Jeffrey Bowen, who has been instrumental in advancing Chelsea’s resurgence as one of the most desired places to live in greater Boston, is back at it again transforming another historic neighborhood. Bowen is both the exclusive broker and an investor for the properties located at 157- 163 Chestnut that includes the Saint Stanislaus Church which served the city’s Polish Community for 115 years before its closure in 2020, and the adjacent site.
Bowen said there will be 30 condominiums, 16 inside the church (The Chelsea Cathedral at 163 Chestnut) and 14 next door (The Chelsea Flats at 157 Chestnut St.). “All the condos will be two-bed, two-bath,” said Bowen. “The square footage ranges from 904 square feet to 1,786 square feet. Both building have elevators. Both will share the common amenities. There’s one deeded parking space per unit. The 157 Chestnut Street location has garage parking. The 163 Chestnut Street location has outdoor parking.”
Price Range for Condos
Bowen said the price range for the condominiums will be from $550,000 to $729,000. There will six affordable units priced at $260,000 each.
Construction on the project has already started. Occupancy is scheduled for April- May, 2023.
The Inspiration for the Project
Jeffrey Bowen was asked what the basis and inspiration were for the project. “The Archdiocese was selling this dilapidated, gothic church,” explained Bowen. “I ended up showing it to Broadway Capital [the developer] and they saw the rectory next door. They looked at the zoning and realized they could knock down the rectory and do another building instead. And they had 45 parking spaces for 30 units, so it had 1.5 spaces per unit, which qualified the building for a variance. There are 11 extra parking spaces for sale and storage units.
“So, the inspiration was to take this empty church and revitalize it – it’s called an adaptive reuse project – where it’s a church conversion, which are very popular across the country,” related Bowen. The amiable real estate broker had earlier helped convert the Horace Memorial Baptist Church into the Thomas Martin Lofts, a 10-unit condominium project at the corner of Webster and Spencer Avenues. “That was the first church-conversion in Chelsea, and this is the next one,” concluded Bowen.
An Appreciation of Chelsea
Chelsea remains a very popular place to live, assesses Bowen. “I love Chelsea because it’s still the affordable neighborhood on the block compared to East Boston, Charlestown, Cambridge, and Somerville,” he said. “You’re getting larger units for less money. You have access to the commuter rail, the Silver Line, and the five bus routes. Everything is walkable. Market Basket, Starbucks, El Potro, downtown Chelsea – everything you need is right within walking distance, five or ten minutes.” Bowen began his ascendancy on the city’s real estate scene as the listing broker for the Beacon (Café) Condominiums (81 Broadway). He continued with the Thomas Martin Lofts (204 Spencer Ave), followed by Parker Place (87 Parker St.), and 932 Broadway – “This is our fifth major project in Chelsea in the past eight years,” Bowen said proudly.
Jeffrey Bowen started selling real estate in 2001. Jeffrey grew up in East Boston and attended St. Rose School in Chelsea as a child and moved away to the South Shore before returning to Chelsea in 2007 right before the last real estate market crash. Jeffrey had to start over and he found a loft to rent at Spencer Lofts in Chelsea where he began to climb back from financial devastation. “I was selling condos in Chelsea for as low as $15,000 and mutli-families for $200,000. Now condos are selling from $300,000-$750,000 and multi-families are selling from $500,000-$1.2 million.” Everett, Revere and East Boston are booming with development and Chelsea needs more development. I hope the planning and zoning boards realize that there is a housing shortage, and we need more development.”
Please go to: www. 157and163Chestnut.com to check out this project and please visit www.chelsearealetstate.com to check out Jeffrey’s work, You can reach Jeffrey Bowen at 781-201-9488 or email [email protected] for sales. Pre-sales begin next week and the lottery sales are under way now. There are 6 income restricted units under the Chelsea Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance. Applications are due in by 10/01/22 and the lottery will be held on 11/02/22. We have 30+ applications in hand and we expect 100+ before the deadline.
It has been Jeffrey’s mission to showcase the best real estate that Chelsea has to offer and tell the world that Chelsea is a great place to live in and invest.