After decades with no new senior housing, Dracut officials finally had something to celebrate this week as they cut the ribbon on The Avenue at Greenmont, a 56-unit affordable community at 144 Greenmont Ave. The three-story building offers one-bedroom, one-bath apartments reserved for residents age 62 and older, along with non-elderly people with disabilities. Inside and out, the property is set up for everyday living rather than luxury marketing: community rooms, laundry on every floor, tenant storage, outdoor seating areas and a small fenced dog space. The goal is straightforward but sorely needed, giving lower-income older residents a chance to downsize and age in the town they helped build.
Common Ground Development Corporation, the affordable-housing affiliate of Community Teamwork Inc., developed the project, and Peabody Properties will manage the building and provide resident services, according to The Lowell Sun. Carl Howell told the paper that The Avenue "represents much more than 56 units — it represents opportunity, security, and dignity" for seniors and people with disabilities, while Rachelly Bartolotto described the building as a testament to Common Ground's partnership model.
Funding and partners
The Avenue at Greenmont did not appear out of thin air. It was pieced together with a mix of local and state support. According to Town records, Dracut used roughly $1 million in Community Preservation Act funds to buy the land and voters signed off on $3 million in borrowing to move the project forward. The state’s MassWorks program chipped in as well, with a $650,000 award to cover infrastructure for the site, a figure listed in the MassWorks awards list.
On the financing side of the ledger, Common Ground and its partners include the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation, the Massachusetts Housing Partnership, Citizens Bank and Boston Financial, among others. Community Teamwork lays out the full roster of partners and funders that helped the deal come together.
Design, amenities and management
BWA Architecture handled the design and ended up with a compact three-story building that tucks amenity spaces against landscaped areas and creates accessible circulation throughout. BWA Architecture notes the constraints the team had to work within, as well as the timing of the project’s completion.
Peabody Properties opened applications earlier this year and will operate the property while also running resident programming. Between Peabody’s materials and the project website, prospective tenants get a fairly clear picture of life inside: unit features spelled out, a fitness room, shared laundry facilities and a fenced pet area for the building’s four-legged residents. Peabody and the development’s official site both post application details and amenity information for anyone trying to sort through the fine print.
Who qualifies and how to apply
The 56 income-restricted apartments are targeted to households earning at or below 60 percent of area median income. The lottery page for the development lists a minimum income threshold for marketable 60 percent units and notes that the initial lottery was conducted in April. For those 60 percent units, the site shows example rents alongside the program income limits and explains that referrals and voucher holders may be handled differently within the process. The Avenue at Greenmont’s lottery page includes the full eligibility chart, a checklist of required documents and direct contact information for the leasing office.
What it means for Dracut
Local officials are treating the opening as a genuine milestone for a town that has not exactly been churning out senior housing. The Lowell Sun reports that The Avenue at Greenmont is the first senior housing built in Dracut in roughly 35 years, a dry spell that helps explain the demand for the new units.
The project also lands in the middle of a statewide push to boost housing production at scale. The Healey-Driscoll administration set a target of roughly 222,000 new housing units by 2035 in its comprehensive housing plan, underscoring how smaller local developments like this plug into a much larger effort. Mass.gov outlines that broader goal and the state’s strategy for hitting it.
For prospective residents or anyone who missed the March application window, the development’s website is still accepting inquiries and wait-list sign-ups. The project team expects to roll out details on unit availability and leasing as the first residents move in. The Avenue at Greenmont’s official page remains the main hub for applications, lottery results and up-to-date contact information.
