The Van Brodie Mill in Lawrence has served a number or roles throughout its history, originally manufacturing yard for wool and flannel and later producing breakfast cereals and military rations. 

Now, the property is being transformed as a 102-unit affordable rental community.

MassHousing provided $17.1 million in financing to help Trinity Financial redevelop Van Brodie Mill into a multifamily community offering several levels of affordability. Sixteen of the 102 units will be for very low-income households earning ≤30% of the area median income (AMI), 67 for low-income households earning ≤60% of AMI, and 19 will be dedicated for workforce housing for households earning between 61 and 80% of AMI.

The adaptive-reuse project, located within a smart growth district near the border of Methuen, will preserve a historic former mill while remediating a brownfields site. It will be built on four adjacent land parcels within the city’s 34-acre Arlington Mills Smart Growth Overlay District, containing two interconnected mill buildings with 100 units, a small, former incinerator building with two units, a water pump house and a parking lot.

"Thanks to MassHousing’s investment, this project will breathe new life into a historically significant asset while creating much-needed mixed-income housing in the Gateway City of Lawrence," said Trinity Financial Project Manager Dan Drazen. 

Other partners include the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development, TD Bank, the Affordable Housing Trust Fund (which MassHousing administers on behalf of DHCD), Red Stone Equity Partners and the Architectural Heritage Foundation. The contractor will be Aberthaw Construction, the architect is ICON Architecture and the management agent will be Trinity Management LLC.