Chinatown developer bucks pandemic trend, proposes changing tower under construction from rental apartments to condos

A developer has asked the BPDA for permission to change 148 apartments in its building under construction at Lagrange and Tamworth streets to condos.

Under the proposed change, the Fortis Group of Brooklyn says it would hold onto an additional 22 units and rent those as affordable.

The request is unusual because developers have been fleeing condo construction since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, citing the reluctance of lenders to get involved with condo construction. Last June, for example, Millennium Towers sought permission to build out its Winthrop Square high rise as apartments instead of the originally proposed condos.

Some developers are even seeking to reduce all residential work - last month, a developer proposed turning a residential tower planned for Dorchester into a life-sciences R&D building.

In its "notice of project change," Fortis did not cite a reason for making the switch from apartments to condos. However, it said the change would not mean any new impacts on either the building or the surrounding area.

Fortis added they now expect the building to be ready for occupancy by mid-2022.

47-55 Lagrange St. notice of project change (22.7M PDF).