A 189-unit apartment development is rising at 100-110 West St. in Needham Heights, replacing a former assisted-living and skilled nursing facility that closed in 2018.
Greystar and Haseko North America announced construction activity in January. Local officials celebrated a groundbreaking May 7 to mark the start of vertical construction, according to Needham Local. Delivery is anticipated in fall 2027.
The project is Needham’s first large-scale multifamily development under its MBTA Communities zoning. It sits across West Street from the Needham Heights commuter rail station.
The three-story building will contain 30 studios, 84 one-bedroom apartments, 58 two-bedroom apartments and 17 three-bedroom apartments. Twenty-four units will be reserved for households earning up to 80% of area median income, the Needham Observer reported.
Greystar purchased the approximately 4.3-acre site from Ohio-based real estate investment trust Welltower for $40 million and secured a $69.5 million construction loan. Welltower had acquired the property for $14 million in 2002, according to the Observer.
The development will be built to Passive House standards, Greystar said. Planned amenities include a fitness center, library, lounges, a golf simulator, a community garden, a playground and two pocket parks.
Needham Town Meeting members adopted the scaled-down Base Compliance Plan in May 2025 after residents rejected a broader zoning proposal in January. The adopted plan provided modeled capacity for 1,870 units, meeting the state’s minimum requirement of 1,784. Those figures describe zoning capacity rather than a commitment to build that many additional homes, according to the town’s 2025 warrant.
The zoning allowed the Planning Board to approve the West Street development through site plan review rather than requiring a special permit.
Demolition brought a separate complication: a 60-foot section of the former building abutted the commuter rail corridor. The MBTA required work within its zone of influence to occur when trains were not operating, the Observer reported in January.
“We’re governed by what the MBTA says we can do,” developer attorney Timothy Sullivan told the Planning Board.
At the May groundbreaking, Select Board Chair Heidi Frail called the project the beginning of “a new era,” according to Needham Local. Greystar Managing Director Ryan Souls credited the town’s rezoning with making redevelopment possible.
“This site has been underutilized for some time,” Souls said.
The property’s history stretches back to a knitting mill founded by William Carter in 1864. It later became a children’s department store and, eventually, a care facility. Kindred Healthcare ceased operations there in February 2018.
