Urbanist Development

10/06/2026

We are happy to announce that Urbanist Development has been awarded TDI Equity funding through MassDevelopment’s Community One Stop for Growth program!

The funding will support the rehabilitation of the vacant storefront at 109 High Street, including accessibility improvements, new accessible restrooms, and other renovations to prepare the space for a planned bar.

This investment builds on our ongoing efforts to rehabilitate historic properties, activate vacant storefronts, and continue the revitalization of North High Street in Holyoke.

We’re excited to keep the momentum going and bring another long-vacant storefront back to life!

09/15/2026

After years of hard work, the application is NOW LIVE for the Crafts Block project! Please tell everyone to apply. Eight absolutely gorgeous apartments with 1 or 2 bedrooms, central AC, washers, dryers, hardwood floors, HUGE windows, granite countertops and more. Actual luxury at a fraction of the price. It is 80% AMI income restricted (aka work-force housing). See inside the link for details.

https://www.oneholyoke.org/the-crafts-block/

09/10/2026

Another before and after at the Bonvouloir Block!

We restored the original guardrails, historic wood and tin wainscoting, and old flooring while concealing the exposed ceiling pipes and adding warm, historically inspired lighting. The result is a common hallway that once again reflects the building’s original character.

09/09/2026

A little before and after magic. ✨

This historic loft apartment has come a long way in preserving the character of the original building while creating a beautiful new place to call home.

09/03/2026

✂️ Ribbon cut at the Crafts Block!

Yesterday we celebrated the completion of the historic Crafts Block at 141–147 High Street in Downtown Holyoke. After decades of vacancy, the building is once again home to 8 new mixed-income apartments

This project has been a true team effort, and we’re incredibly grateful to the contractors, consultants, funding partners, City officials, and community members who helped bring it across the finish line.

We’re proud to restore another piece of High Street and bring new housing and commercial space back to the heart of Downtown Holyoke.

https://www.masslive.com/westernmass/2026/09/historic-crafts-block-reborn-as-housing-and-retail-space-in-holyoke.html?gift=761c4612-99c0-49ce-9540-303a8d99a77f

On to the next one! 🌳🏢

07/27/2026

Urbanist Development’s goal was to restore the building’s historic appearance while creating attractive housing.

07/23/2026

🏁 The finish line is in sight at Urbanist’s Crafts Block project! 🏛️✨

It’s exciting to see this historic building come back to life. We’re now working through the punch list ✅ while the beautiful historic old-growth fir floors are being sanded and brought back to their original glory. 🪵✨

The electrical service is live ⚡ and the HVAC systems are online 🌬️❄️☀️, bringing these future homes one big step closer to welcoming residents. 🏠

A huge thank you to Cedar Construction 👷‍♂️🔨 for leading this incredible transformation as our General Contractor, and to CR Home Improvement for their outstanding electrical work throughout the project.

We can’t wait to share these gorgeous new affordable apartments with the Holyoke community! 🏘️Interested in learning more? Be sure to follow OneHolyokeCDC for leasing information and future updates.

The countdown is on! ⏳🎉

🏛️ 🏠 🌆 🌱 ♻️

06/11/2026

Join us on quick walk-through of Wright's Block in downtown Holyoke with Vadim and Bill from the Urbanist Team!

It's exciting to see this historic building continue to come back to life as construction progresses. Wright's Block will bring new apartments and storefront space to the heart of downtown, helping add more housing and activity to High Street.

A big thank you to the team at First Peak Construction for their hard work and partnership in bringing this project to reality.

More updates to come as we move closer to completion.

05/05/2026

This past Monday was International Firefighters’ Day ❤️🚒

A few weeks ago, we experienced a fire at one of our Newton Street properties. We are incredibly thankful that everyone made it out safely 🙏, but heartbroken over the loss of residents’ homes and damage to a townhouse we had recently renovated that was soon going to become someone’s new home 🏡💔

At Urbanist Development, we got into historic preservation because we believe in fighting blight, restoring old buildings, and giving them a second life 🧱✨. Seeing one of these structures damaged by fire is difficult for all involved.

One thing this experience reinforced is how important life safety investments are in older buildings. In many of our projects, that means installing sprinkler systems, new fire separations, upgraded alarms, and other modern safety improvements to help protect both people and historic structures 🚨🧯

Today we especially want to thank the firefighters who responded and all firefighters who put themselves on the line every day for their communities 👨‍🚒👩‍🚒❤️ We are deeply grateful for the hard, dangerous, and often underappreciated work you do.

05/05/2026