NEWBURYPORT — Shovels will be plunged into ceremonial dirt Tuesday morning to officially kick off construction of the long-anticipated third Newburyport Crossing apartment complex near Route 1.
The ceremony comes almost two years after MINCO Development Corp. tore down the former Haley’s Ice Cream in November 2024 to make room for the estimated $40 million project.
“We are very excited,” MINCO President Louis P. Minicucci Jr. said.
The restaurant’s demolition makes way for a planned 92 mixed-income rental homes adjacent to the Newburyport MBTA Commuter Rail station, including a planned 24 affordable housing units.
MINCO also built and owns the adjacent Newburyport Crossing apartment complexes made up of 1 Boston Way (with 76 units) and 3 Boston Way (84 units).
Just like the other two Newburyport Crossing buildings, the new project would fall under the umbrella of the city’s 40R Smart Growth District, which aims to put affordable housing – as well as high-density apartments – next to the commuter rail line to Boston.
In July, the project received a $6.5 million boost from the Healey-Driscoll administration’s Momentum Fund to help get it ready for the groundbreaking, with Minicucci explaining that following that award they only had a few steps left to get ready for Tuesday’s ceremony.
“It was just the coordination of meeting with the building inspector and the coordination of all the legal documents with the financial institution, Rockland Trust, who has also financed the other two existing buildings at Newburyport Crossing,” Minicucci said.
The ceremony is set to begin at 10 a.m. and will include remarks from Mayor Sean Reardon, who called MINCO a “great partner to work with.”
“We are excited to see this project finally moving forward,” Reardon said. “It is important to have developers and builders who understand our community and share our commitment to creating both high-quality housing and more affordable housing opportunities.”
Reardon went on to opine that Newburyport doesn’t just need more housing but different kinds of housing at different price points.
“This project, located in our 40R district right at the MBTA station, is exactly the kind of smart, transit-oriented development we want to encourage. These new rental homes will provide more options for our workforce, seniors and young professionals just beginning their careers, giving more people the opportunity to put down roots and be part of the Newburyport community,” Reardon said.
Councilor at large Ed Cameron, who was one of eight councilors who approved 40R zoning changes in 2015, said housing affordability is something talked about often by many.
“But the only way to make housing more affordable is to increase the number of units built,” Cameron said, adding that he, too, will be at the ceremony.
Regarding the third Newburyport Crossing building, Minicucci said it will be an example of passive house construction, which is “the most progressive energy conservation type of building that you can construct.”
“Our buildings are what I would consider state-of-the-art,” Minicucci said. “I think they’re the nicest, both aesthetically and from a sustainability and construction standpoint, they are as good as any buildings north of Boston or comparable to buildings.”
He said they hired Arrow Street Design of Boston to handle the architecture.
“I think it’s going to be a tremendous asset to the city,” Minicucci said.
The project is in Ward 3, which is represented by City Councilor Brian Callahan, who said he is always happy to see more affordable housing, especially in an advantageous location close to public transit and the rail trail.
“From what I’ve seen of the renderings, I think it will fit will aesthetically,” Callahan said.
In terms of a timeline, Minicucci said that from the groundbreaking “we’d be looking at a two-year delivery of starting to move tenants in.”
Daily News editor Dave Rogers contributed to this report.
Matt Petry covers Amesbury and Salisbury for The Daily News of Newburyport. Email him at: mpetry@northofboston.com.