Natick Castle Gets New Life As Condos
PHOTO/EILEEN KENNEDY
Castle Courtyard in Natick.
A re-imagining of the distinctive former armory in Natick into one- and two-bedroom condos is almost complete, according to Syed Nuruzzaman, whose company, S&S Consultants of Lexington, owns the development.
The project is called Castle Courtyard and features 23 condos including several townhouses as well as one- and two-bedroom units. The units have cathedral ceilings, open living areas, Energy Star appliances and underground parking. They are priced from $399,000 to $575,000.
Looking Back
The project's allure for Nuruzzaman was the facility's lineage.
"I have a great fascination for historic buildings," he said. "When I was growing up in Bangladesh, they were all around me."
The armory, with its castle-like exterior, has a storied past. It was built in 1911 and was dedicated to Natick residents that served in the Spanish American War. Over the years, it was the site of a number of town activities including a performance by the Glenn Miller Band as well as the Women's Club's Carnation Balls, stage shows and a variety of meetings.
Other buildings in town such as the library, the town hall and the fire station were all built to complement the Natick Armory or the large, brick edifice of St. Paul's Church, Nuruzzaman said.
S&S Consultants - through The Natick Armory Castle LLC - took ownership of the armory following an auction by the state's Division of Capital Asset Management. S&S submitted the winning bid of $1.3 million. Once the company took ownership, an environmental study was done, which came back clean except for asbestos lining in the pipes, which has been removed.
The former armory is now about 37,000 square feet including the common areas and sits on slightly less than an acre of land.
Keeping the façade the same, Nuruzzaman gutted the inside. Now there is a courtyard in the center and the main entrances to the units are off of it. All of the units have at least one small deck area and two units in the front have roof decks with a view of downtown.
"You can have your own (Boston) Marathon party right here," said Philipp Grefe, the project manager. East Central Street is also Route 135, and the race passes right in front of the building. They held an open house during this year's marathon, bringing many onlookers through the units during the race.
After the project's architect Mark Boyes-Watson, of Boyes-Watson Architects of Somerville, finished the designs, it took about 18 months for it to pass the various town boards. The one big holdup was securing approval from the Massachusetts Historical Commission, which took five months, he said.
Nuruzzaman believes the project's location - with walking accessibility to downtown as well as a 1.4-mile walk to Wellesley College and about 1.7 miles to Wellesley Center - will draw buyers.
The Natick Castle isn't S&S's first historical project. The company has redone historic buildings in Cambridge as well as new developments in several communities such as Chelsea and Amesbury over the last 30 years.
The redevelopment of the Natick Armory has led Nuruzzaman to cast an eye around town for other properties, but nothing has been nailed down yet. For now he said he plans watch over the last few details along with Grefe and enjoy Castle Courtyard.
"It really belongs to the town, I'm glad I was able to preserve some of its history," he said.
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