Greystar and Haseko North America are turning a long-vacant assisted-living campus in Needham Heights into a new 189-unit apartment community, with demolition now underway at 100 West Street. The former Carter assisted-living site is being cleared as the partners move through pre-construction, with vertical construction scheduled for spring 2026 and first move-ins targeted for fall 2027. The three-story building is set to offer a range of studios through three-bedrooms, plus a slate of shared amenities designed to make this stretch of West Street feel more walkable to the Needham Heights Commuter Rail station and nearby shops.
Greystar says the project will be built to Passive House standards, aiming for high energy efficiency and lower operating costs, and will feature a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. Planned indoor amenities include a fitness center, library, resident lounges, a package room with cold storage and an indoor golf simulator, while the outdoor program calls for a dog run, playground, community garden and two pocket parks, the developer notes. "Greystar is delighted to commence work on 100 West Street to deliver more housing at a time where the need has never been greater," the company said in its announcement, according to Greystar.
Transit-Oriented Zoning and Location
The plan moved forward under zoning reforms tied to the MBTA Communities Act, which encourage denser housing near transit and streamline approvals for developments located by commuter rail lines. The site sits directly across West Street from the Needham Heights Commuter Rail station and faces a Trader Joe’s and a CVS, giving the project an easy pitch as a transit-oriented, errands-on-foot kind of address, as reported by the Boston Real Estate Times.
Financing, Parking and Local Concerns
Industry reporting indicates that Greystar acquired the Carter property for about $40 million and lined up roughly $69.5 million in construction financing to fund the redevelopment, per ConnectCRE and related deal coverage. During Planning Board hearings, neighbors raised concerns about parking capacity, delivery access and how the new building would be buffered from nearby homes. Town filings spell out proposed parking counts, landscaping plans and other mitigation efforts aimed at addressing those issues, according to Town of Needham planning board documents and local reporting in the Needham Observer.
If permitting and construction stay on track, the development is expected to take about two years to build and deliver nearly 200 new homes to Needham Heights by fall 2027, offering a tangible example of the MBTA Communities law producing transit-adjacent housing. Developers say the combination of Passive House design, nearby retail and commuter-rail access is geared toward renters who put a premium on transit options and neighborhood conveniences, as reported by the Boston Real Estate Times.
