Official groundbreaking held for 250 market-rate apartment complex in Manchester

An official groundbreaking ceremony was held Nov. 10 to mark the start of work on a new 250-unit market-rate apartment complex to be built in downtown Manchester.

The complex, being developed by Boston-based private equity investment firm Jones Street Investment Partners, will be built on a 2.3-acre site at the corner of Canal and West Auburn streets, near the Market Basket supermarket.

The project – which is located in an Opportunity Zone – will feature a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments as well as retail space and an underground garage. The location in an Opportunity Zone provides investors with tax benefits, including the ability to defer capital gains taxes.

Construction is expected to be completed in the summer of 2024.

A big chunk of the work began in September, and it involves demolition of an older brick building to clear the way for the project. The demolition work is slated to be completed by the end of the month.

Jones Street secured a $65.1 million loan from Berkshire Bank to develop the complex. Colliers International arranged the construction loans on for the project.

The project is one of three Jones Street projects underway in northern New England.

The company recently secured a $70 million loan from Key Bank and a $7.9 million preferred equity investment from an investment manager to a 282-unit market-rate multifamily community in Kittery, Maine. And Bangor Savings Bank recently provided Jones Street with a $36 million loan to develop a 181-unit multifamily community in Brunswick, Maine, also located in an Opportunity Zone.