Adaptive reuse of a building means rehabbing the building for new
uses. Often, the building is a vacant
mill or church building.
The Massachusetts Condominium Statute requires that the Master Deed
contain a description of the building.
It is often difficult to describe a building converted from a historic
use such as a mill or a church to a residential building or a mixed-use
building. That’s why at least one visit
to the site is necessary and helpful.
Because of the thick walls, the description of the boundaries of the
units in the Master Deed must be drafted with extra care. Sometimes the
original ceiling is used and sometimes there is a drop ceiling. The attorney drafting the Master Deed must
find out and cover this in the Master Deed.
Even a 2-unit adaptive reuse can be challenging. For example, there may be a building and an
existing carriage house in back of the building. Part of the carriage house may be a part of
one of the 2 units in the main building and the remainder of the carriage house
may be limited common area, with a parking space for Unit 1 and a parking space
for Unit 2. The lesson is that, whether
the project is 30 luxury units in the city or 2 units in the suburbs, condominiumizing
existing structures for adaptive reuse is not easy.
Developers should not overlook the need for well drafted condominium
documents prepared by an experienced condominium lawyer and floor and site
plans prepared by experienced architects, engineers or surveyors.
Saul Feldman and Angel
Mozina practice with the Feldman Law Office in Boston The firm's primary
specialties are commercial real estate transactions and condominium law and
development, in addition to residential conveyancing. Angel can be contacted at angel@feldmanrelaw.com. Saul can be contacted at saul@feldmanrelaw.com.
