Taunton chapel gets $1.6M makeover into luxury and affordable condos. What will they cost?

TAUNTON — More housing options are always welcome in downtown Taunton.

Taking an unused, vacant building of historical value and turning it into condo units will get attention from anxious homeowners.

“It was a labor of love. But this was definitely the most difficult project I’ve done,” said local homebuilder and realtor Christopher Coute, whose company, Mill River Homes, a division of Brownstone Realty Group, constructed eight condo units inside the Union Mission Chapel Historic Hall, at 7 Cedar St. in downtown Taunton, one of the oldest buildings in the city and a historic landmark.

Now called Union Mission Lofts, the condo units range in size from 900 to 1,200 square feet across the three-story building, with of six 2-bedroom units, one 1-bedroom unit, and one 3-bedroom unit.

How much will the condos cost?

Six of the units are market rate, with starting prices in the mid-$300,000’s.

What's the rent for the two affordable units?

Two of the units are designated for affordable family housing and are for rent, starting at $1,600 a month, utilities included. Families must meet income eligibility requirements with the city.

Complete makeover Remodeled two family in Taunton sells for over $600K: Weekly home sales

From run-down to 'beautiful'

Coute bought the building in 2018 for $50,000. It was previously owned by the American Legion, but hadn’t been used in at least 10 years, he said. For the two affordable-designated units, the building received a grant from Taunton Affordable Housing Trust in early 2019.

Coute recalls seeing the basement to the building for the first time: "It was completely collapsed in on itself,” he said. Meanwhile, the actual mission hall on the main floor didn’t have any major damage.

Why did he choose this building for a housing development?

“It was a run-down building. I have a history of taking the worst buildings in the city and making them beautiful,” Coute said.

Stand-out Taunton-area players Introducing the 18 boys basketball players nominated for the 2024 Dave Cowens Award

Delays caused by pandemic

Permitting was approved by the city in the summer of 2019 and construction began in the fall.

Then everything came to a grinding halt in early 2020 with the pandemic, Coute said.

“This delayed things for a while,” Coute said.

The pandemic brought on a lot of supply chain issues in the construction industry, said Coute.  What made things even harder was a unique, historic, stone structure like the Union Mission Hall required a lot of custom parts and work.

“Everything is custom in this building,” he said.

Dream come true Raynham teen to showcase vocal talent in all-state concert at Boston Symphony Hall

Challenges of building inside historic landmark

Work on the Union Mission Lofts picked back up, off and on, starting in 2021. In addition to the material delays, such as custom windows, the build itself was a very slow, meticulous process, said Coute.

To maintain the building’s historic landmark status and gothic architecture, Coute said the outside remained untouched.

Because of the stone structure, “we basically had to build a building inside a building,” he said. Thousands of tie rods had to be drilled into the stone to fasten the interior walls with bolts to the structure.

In the end, the total cost for new construction was $1.6 million.

“It was a big investment, but you see the quality of the construction.”

On the National Register of Historic Places

The Union Mission Chapel Historic Hall was constructed in 1867 by local businessman Joseph Dean, who was quoted as saying he wanted the chapel to "provide a place of worship for people who could not afford to purchase pews at the First Congregational Church."

In 1881 it became a mission hall. Eventually, the Taunton Historical Society occupied the space from 1886 to 1926.

In 1926, the Taunton Historical Society (now Old Colony Historical Museum) moved out and the American Legion Post 103 moved in. The American Legion was there for decades. The name can still be seen on the front of the building.

The Union Mission is one of the few stone buildings remaining in the city of Taunton.

The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

Interest

People interested in the Union Mission Lofts can learn more at https://millriverhomes.com/union-mission-lofts/ or by calling 508-802-0469.

This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Union Mission Chapel transformed into lux condo in downtown Taunton