A development team has floated a plan to build 12 single-family homes at the former Full Life Gospel Center property at 183-185 Norfolk St. in Dorchester. The once-thriving church has been vacant since it went into foreclosure in August 2024, according to county property records.
Since that time, development plans have been in the works, with the first public proposal aired at an online abutters’ meeting on April 28, even though no official plan has been filed with the city’s Planning Department.
“This is workforce housing, and these are meant to be starter homes, and we are working with the Mayor’s Office of Housing on this project,” said Derric Small, an attorney who represents an LLC controlled by Steven Guard of Hanover. “They are 100 percent affordable and at 100 percent AMI (area median income). We estimate the cost will be about $400,000 to $425,000 per unit.”
The owner and developer were not disclosed at the meeting, but Small said the developer is Origen Norfolk LLC, a former lender on the property that filed a foreclosure action in August 2024, according to records at the Suffolk County Registry of Deeds.
A view of the proposed development from Norfolk Street. BF Architects image
The 12 homes would be situated on a 19,300-square-foot lot on Norfolk Street and two dead end streets – Balina Place and Charles Street.
The church building, which would be demolished, faces Norfolk Street but has a large parking lot in the rear that would be fully occupied by housing in the plan.
There would be five parking spots for the twelve homes provided, though eight are required by zoning code. Pathways would lead to homes and a small amount of greenspace would be provided.
Each two-story home would have three bedrooms and two baths with kitchen and laundry. The total space, with a basement and an attic would comprise about 1,100 square feet
Of the six neighbors on the meeting, two objected to the parking situation and the layout of the properties, but not the concept of starter homes.
An exterior view of the Full Life Gospel Center building, which has long been vacant. Seth Daniel photo
“I think the space could be better utilized,” said Ben Cressy, an abutter. “I really think you could get more affordable units on the site and tap into the reality of off-street parking, which is a reality whether people want to acknowledge it or not.”
Cressy said he liked the idea of homeownership and larger units for stater families. Abutter Mesele Farah said, “My biggest concern is the parking, especially in winter time. “I don’t think [five spaces] is enough. Improve in that area, that’s my feedback.”
Architect Brianne Day, of BF Architects, said the developer is constrained with the parking and layout due to the use of modular home construction – not the ground-up variety.
“We have to kind of follow strict regulations because we’re using a modular company to build these, so they have pretty specific needs with dimensions and how we design things,” she said. “I know we don’t want these to be apartments; they’ll be sold as starter homes.”
Project consultant Mitch Fischman said the starter-home concept was the second effort on the site, with a much bigger development on the drawing board internally before.
“We had earlier thoughts of a larger building with 5 stories and more than 40 units with some additional parking,” he said. “I think it was felt this was a more viable option for the neighborhood and more considerate with the design. That’s how we got here.”
The development team will need to secure variances from the city’s Zoning Board for the project, specifically for not having enough parking spaces.
The Talbot Norfolk Triangle (TNT-CIA-DUN) civic group had a first meeting on April 28 regarding the proposal and said they are in the beginning stages of speaking with abutters, expecting it to come up again.
