IN RECENT DECADES, many historic mills and old industrial buildings in Gateway Cities across the Commonwealth have found a second life – renovated and converted into much-needed housing. The projects are often a way for cities to preserve their historic charm while creating modern residential units in high demand. They also help to revitalize post-industrial era cities that suffered from the long-term decline of manufacturing. 

On The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon editor Laura Colarusso and Gateway Cities reporter Hallie Claflin discuss why Eastern Massachusetts cities like Lowell and Lawrence have found success in their renovation efforts, with almost no former industrial buildings left to restore. Meanwhile, cities farther west, with weaker housing markets and that don’t enjoy the luxury of being connected to Greater Boston via the commuter rail, still struggle with an array of blighted properties that have yet to be developed.  

Claflin recently travelled to Holyoke and reported on the city’s sluggish housing market and a handful of its restoration projects. In these communities – like Holyoke, Springfield, and Fitchburg – the market rarely supports rents that attract developers for these projects. 

The renovation projects are often seen by researchers and policymakers as a faster, cheaper alternative to new housing construction, which developers say couldn’t be further from the truth. State and federal funding is almost always needed to fill a developer’s project financing gap, but those tax credits and payouts come slowly and to only a handful of developers who are willing to invest years into a project before making a profit. But many aren’t willing to stick around in cities like Holyoke.  

Claflin explains how the stigma that comes with being a diverse, low-income city works to stunt housing development in Holyoke. Small businesses that would otherwise promote growth and further development don’t want to open next to old, blighted buildings that are boarded up.  

Blighted properties and century-old mills often require extensive environmental clean-up and remediation efforts, which is time-consuming, expensive, and drives developers away. If a mill can be rehabilitated, it often takes 10 years or more. Holyoke officials told Claflin their housing crisis cannot be remedied on that timeline. 

Despite the challenges, a number of small-scale, local developers have managed to restore a handful of vacant mills in Holyoke. Those developers say it took market-rate housing subsidies, a lot of patience, and a little bit of luck.  

“I talked about this as the stars aligning, because that really is what needs to happen in order for these projects to work,” Claflin said. “It seems like everything has to fall in place perfectly, otherwise there would be no difference between this building that got renovated and this one that’s been sitting vacant.”  

Backlogged tax credits, competitive funding pools, and inadequate state grants and credits have served as barriers. On top of elevated construction costs, developers are now grappling with the uncertainty of tariffs.  

During the episode, Claflin and Colarusso discuss why it is so difficult to restore blighted industrial properties (15:51), state and federal funding barriers (20:15), and why Western Massachusetts cities struggle more than those connected to Greater Boston (5:20).