Timeline

The Salem Housing Authority selects Beacon as its developer partner to explore the feasibility of redeveloping Leefort Terrace.

DHCD awards the Salem Housing Authority a Planning Grant under the Partnership to Expand Housing Opportunities II program. This grant will help fund pre-development due diligence at Leefort Terrace

The team began to explore and understand the Leefort Terrace site through a survey, soil and geotechnical testing, evaluation of the permitting needed and an exploration of the floodplain. Sustainability Goals were established.

We held many individual and small group meetings with residents, abutters, community members and elected officials. We launched our project website www.leeforterrace.com.

We held a large community meeting on March 1, 2021 to share the site investigation and have a listening session for what the community wanted to see on the site. We heard that affordable housing was a priority over market or mixed-income housing, building with climate resilient and sustainable approaches was necessary and that the new building shouldn't be too high.

Our team presented our plans with a focus on climate resiliency and sustainability to the City of Salem's Sustainability, Energy, and Resiliency Committee (SERC). Overall, the committee was very pleased with the level of focus and commitment the development team was placing on these issues.

Working with Regenesis Group, we broadened our community engagement approach to develop a Story of Place. Through that process we are seeking to deepen our understanding of the many social and ecological interrelationships that make Leefort Terrace, its immediate surroundings, and Salem unique. We are aiming to harmonize with these natural and social systems as we move from our understanding of place to inform the project. As part of that process we had kitchen table conversations with well over 50 stakeholders who shared their perspectives with us on what makes Salem unique and what might be missing. From the Story of Place we created Design Principles that we used to inform the site plan and building design. We will continue on with regular community conversations, revising and adding the Story of Place as new information and perspectives are revealed.

We met with the community to share what we learned through the Story of Place conversations and research, and the Principles and Concepts that were coming out through that. We also shared the first cut at a site plan and layout for the newly redeveloped Leefort Terrace.

The design team will continue to move the design process along, making changes along the way based on community input as well as feedback through the permitting process.

We shared the schematic concepts for the building elevations and renderings. We listened to feedback and will continue to make adjustments as the process continues.

Our team presented our plans with a focus on the affordability levels and terms of the redevelopment. Overall the AHTF committee was very pleased that not only will the existing 50 units at Leefort Terrace be preserved, but an additional 74 units of deed-restricted affordable housing will be created. The AHTF was also pleased with the unique set State funding sources that the team is using, which are not competing against other Salem-based affordable housing funding applications expected to be submitted to the State in the near future.

Our team met with the Salem Willows Neighborhood Association to present plans and hear feedback.

Local and state permitting includes Chapter 40B, Conservation Commission, MEPA and Chapter 91. The Salem ZBA and Planning Board held an initial joint public hearing on Leefort Terrace on May 16, 2022 at 6:30pm and the Conservation Commission on May 17th at 6:30pm. Additional ZBA and ConCom hearings were held in June and July 2022 and will continue through the fall. All permitting is expected to be in place by February 2023.

As part of our desire to be in relationship with the community we designed the publicly accessible open space on the Collins Cove side of the new building in collaboration with neighbors, residents and community members. The working group met three times in June & July '22. We also hope to continue to foster our existing relationships and make new connections as we look for ideas that might emerge to reinforce quality of life and connectivity with nearby neighborhoods, downtown, and the sea.

Our team meets and communicates with the Leefort Tenant Organization Board regularly, including an in person meeting on July 19th. We will meet with all Leefort residents again in late August.

The Salem Zoning Board approved the Chapter 40B Comprehensive Permit for the redevelopment of Leefort Terrace.

The redevelopment of Leefort Terrace reached the milestone of approval by the Conservation Commission.

In January of 2023 the Salem City Council approved the Urban Center Housing Tax-Increment Financing (UCH-TIF) Agreement for Leefort Terrace. This agreement plays a significant role in the funding for the project. The development team is now working to finish assembling the financing and work with residents on a plan for temporary relocation. We are targeting November/December 2023 to begin construction.

Funding was fully secured in June 2023.

Construction began in June 2024 and is estimated to be completed in Spring 2026.

Leasing is estimated to begin in early 2026 and will continue through the end of the year.