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Leslie Clement (413) 567-7887
Caring for clients along their real estate journey in Western Massachusetts |
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IN THE PRESS
One Victorian for 6 Condos Holyoke, Mass
The New York Times Northeast Notebook Real Estate Section
February 7, 1988
When Leslie Clement first saw the Cleary-Fitzgerald home in 1986, it had been vacant and on the market for almost a year. The 24-room, 97-year-old Victorian sits on the fringes of the city’s faded downtown.
After a tour with Tom Ripa, who represented the owners, Ms. Clement bought the structure for $103,000. She spent $300,000 more to renovate it into six condominiums. So far, four of the condominiums have been sold for $90,000 to $100,000 with monthly maintenance of $250.
Although there are many Victorian-era homes in this part of western Massachusetts, few have been converted into condominiums.
Ms. Clement said she became a carpenter after graduating from college because she “had something to prove.” Now she heads her own company, Clement Restorations of Springfield, Mass. Among her projects was the restoration of 18 National Register historic homes in Springfield which became 24 apartments which rent for $500 to $750.
Ms. Clement, 29 years old, found that Holyoke’s relatively low rents made the Cleary-Fitzgerald investment more financially feasible as a condominium. The two–bedroom units were marketed as “historical condominiums” and attracted a mix of single people, couples and investors.
“It was a dream house,” Ms. Clement said. Built in what had been one of the city’s elite neighborhoods, the three-story house is on a slope with views of downtown and the surrounding mountains. The lot is 120 feet by 300 feet.
In the conversion, Ms. Clement preserved the exterior which has turrets and porches and much of the interior, which features tin ceilings, butternut raised paneling, parquet oak floors and the original boiler.
After the city approved the conversion of the carriage house on the grounds into a dwelling, it was also sold for $34,000. The new owner plans to spend $100,000 to renovate the building as a single-family residence.
Mr. Ripa sees the house as a model of what can be done to preserve such structures in downtown areas. Other Victorian homes in the city are said to be attracting renewed interest as single-family homes.
Ms. Clement, who is developing 24 luxurious condominiums in Tudor-style buildings in an historic district of Springfield, said the region’s low unemployment rate and high demand for affordable housing continued to make the conversion of older homes into apartments and condominiums profitable.
Anne Gerard-Flynn
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Woman renovator restores a future to old Victorian Holyoke Transcript Telegram November, 1986
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New life for a fine old house Springfield Republican September, 1987
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