An arson fire gutted the large apartment building on
in March 2013, leaving residents in 25 apartments homeless. Property owner
Andrew Perkins said he made plans after the fire to build on the building site
even as he tried to find new housing for displaced tenants.
“I placed 20 of the families and helped them get furniture,”
he said last week.
He made good on his rebuilding commitment by contracting for
145 Lewis’ new concrete foundation and arranged for Avalon Building Systems of
Peabody to coordinate construction. Lynn-based Landmark Engineering surveyed
the fire site to determine exactly where the new building should be built, and
Avalon coordinated with Keiser Homes in
building.
“Twenty-five units — that’s what we had there — that is what
we are putting back,” Perkins said.
Each one of the 24 “modular boxes” stacked on the
contains halves of two separate apartments with a hallway section running
between the halves.
Each box is paired with another to create two full-size apartments
complete with bathrooms outfitted with fixtures, front doors and kitchens
equipped with cabinets and appliances. Eight boxes will be stacked on each of
the three floors with an additional basement unit.
Each apartment has 9-foot-high ceilings.
Keiser crews started parking the big boxes on Monday with
the goal of stacking them in place on
Street
together, erect vinyl outer walls and a slightly-peaked insulated roof while
plumbers and electricians do utility work.
Prefabricated stairways will round out the building’s common
areas.
The advantage of a prefabricated building over traditional
construction includes avoiding weather delays and quicker assembly methods. Tenants
will move into 145 Lewis by year’s end.
