The Pioneer Apartment building has become a singular statement on Revere Beach Parkway about what the future of that section of Everett is likely to be very soon, and owner Andy Montelli said this week that they are ready to begin welcoming potential new residents this week for tours of this first piece of that future.
Montelli said they expect to be giving tours of the building starting on Thursday, and hope to welcome their first residents in mid-March. The remainder of the units will roll out in a phased approach throughout the year.
“I’m so happy with the way it’s all turned out,” he said. “There are amenities in this building that this market hasn’t seen. We have a golf simulator. No one else has done that. We have a wall rack that holds 880 bottles of wine. We’re going to fill that up. We’re doing things no one else has done to be unique in the market…We’re still playing with it and can still make it better.”
Facing the busy Parkway, the building has rustic wooden walls lining the 286-unit living space, and the new community successfully blends the rustic and traditional with the modern and polished. The rustic wood brings a traditional feeling as one enters the building, and the polished cement floors and modern fixtures and art decor provide the touch that most expect in the current market.
Montelli and his company, Post Road, are the developers of the Batch Yard on Lower Broadway in Everett. The Pioneer was their return to the city for a second major project, and he said he couldn’t be happier.
“We learned from the Batch Yard that our customers really dig Everett,” he said. “They love the city and want to be here. If we hadn’t had great success at the Batch Yard, I promise you we wouldn’t be building the Pioneer. The positive response we got from Batch Yard when people moved in and how much they liked Everett and its proximity to downtown Boston…that gave us the confidence to go forward with this second building.”
And go forward they did.
Montelli said it has been a building four years in the works, and one that still has tweaks made by his company every day.
The community spaces are certainly a major highlight of the new community, with a breathtaking Great Room that is about three stories tall and contains a custom wooden bar (with Night Shift Beer on tap), reading areas, a golf simulator, an indoor movie theatre and a giant, custom wooden dining table. That all overlooks an outdoor patio with a saltwater pool and a Grill-Zebo for the warmer months.
However, a key highlight is about 20 feet off the floor of the Great Room – and it’s a one-of-a-kind light made out of a custom canoe.
Montelli said the canoe is an idea that came at the outset of the building – something he wanted to use in the design. In fact, he said they contracted the custom canoe maker before they even signed the contract with their builder, Plumb House.
“I actually signed the contract to make that canoe before I signed the contract with our builder,” he said. “we need to get in his pipeline really, really early…No one had ever lit a canoe before. That one detail took months of work and hundreds of conversations between our general contractor, the canoe builder and our lighting consultant.”
The amenities also include a world-class fitness center that is nearly 4,000 sq. ft. – almost double that of the fitness center at the Batch Yard.
“That space goes way beyond most fitness centers of its kind,” said Property Manager Alana Ferrari. “This is comparable to a real stand-along gym – like a Boston Sports Club or an LA Fitness.”
The apartments are a mix of studios, one-bedrooms, two-bedrooms and three-bedrooms – with every conceivable mix one could imagine. Ferrari said there are almost 50 different floor plans for the living units, making each and every one of them unique. The square footages are also larger than most units on the market. A one-bedroom plus den is about 700 sq. ft. in many buildings, but comes closer to 1,000 sq. ft. in the Pioneer.
With spacious closets and large bathrooms, the units also boast appliances that include gas ranges and stainless steel refrigerators.
It also includes 425 parking spaces for residents and visitors.
Montelli said they haven’t determined the market rate for rents, but he said he expects very good rents for a product that he believes is one of the best on the market – and situated within walking distance to the new Silver Line hub in the Chelsea Market Basket mall.
“I think it’s the best building in the market by far,” he said. “I think people are going to love it and I suspect our rents will be higher than the Batch Yard or any other project around us. I think it’s a better project than the Batch Yard, and I developed the Batch Yard.”
In the end, Montelli said it was another excellent experience investing in Everett. He said he is glad to have come in on the ground floor of a very unique and forward-moving community.
“We’re thrilled to be building in Everett,” he said. “It’s been a great experience for us and we think we are bringing an even better project to the market. We’ve made a big investment on this building and are confident investing that sort of money into Everett.”