Urbanist Development

09/03/2026

✂️ Ribbon cut at the Crafts Block!

Yesterday we celebrated the completion of the historic Crafts Block at 141–147 High Street in Downtown Holyoke. After decades of vacancy, the building is once again home to 8 new mixed-income apartments

This project has been a true team effort, and we’re incredibly grateful to the contractors, consultants, funding partners, City officials, and community members who helped bring it across the finish line.

We’re proud to restore another piece of High Street and bring new housing and commercial space back to the heart of Downtown Holyoke.

https://www.masslive.com/westernmass/2026/09/historic-crafts-block-reborn-as-housing-and-retail-space-in-holyoke.html?gift=761c4612-99c0-49ce-9540-303a8d99a77f

On to the next one! 🌳🏢

07/27/2026

Urbanist Development’s goal was to restore the building’s historic appearance while creating attractive housing.

07/23/2026

🏁 The finish line is in sight at Urbanist’s Crafts Block project! 🏛️✨

It’s exciting to see this historic building come back to life. We’re now working through the punch list ✅ while the beautiful historic old-growth fir floors are being sanded and brought back to their original glory. 🪵✨

The electrical service is live ⚡ and the HVAC systems are online 🌬️❄️☀️, bringing these future homes one big step closer to welcoming residents. 🏠

A huge thank you to Cedar Construction 👷‍♂️🔨 for leading this incredible transformation as our General Contractor, and to CR Home Improvement for their outstanding electrical work throughout the project.

We can’t wait to share these gorgeous new affordable apartments with the Holyoke community! 🏘️Interested in learning more? Be sure to follow OneHolyokeCDC for leasing information and future updates.

The countdown is on! ⏳🎉

🏛️ 🏠 🌆 🌱 ♻️

06/11/2026

Join us on quick walk-through of Wright's Block in downtown Holyoke with Vadim and Bill from the Urbanist Team!

It's exciting to see this historic building continue to come back to life as construction progresses. Wright's Block will bring new apartments and storefront space to the heart of downtown, helping add more housing and activity to High Street.

A big thank you to the team at First Peak Construction for their hard work and partnership in bringing this project to reality.

More updates to come as we move closer to completion.

05/05/2026

This past Monday was International Firefighters’ Day ❤️🚒

A few weeks ago, we experienced a fire at one of our Newton Street properties. We are incredibly thankful that everyone made it out safely 🙏, but heartbroken over the loss of residents’ homes and damage to a townhouse we had recently renovated that was soon going to become someone’s new home 🏡💔

At Urbanist Development, we got into historic preservation because we believe in fighting blight, restoring old buildings, and giving them a second life 🧱✨. Seeing one of these structures damaged by fire is difficult for all involved.

One thing this experience reinforced is how important life safety investments are in older buildings. In many of our projects, that means installing sprinkler systems, new fire separations, upgraded alarms, and other modern safety improvements to help protect both people and historic structures 🚨🧯

Today we especially want to thank the firefighters who responded and all firefighters who put themselves on the line every day for their communities 👨‍🚒👩‍🚒❤️ We are deeply grateful for the hard, dangerous, and often underappreciated work you do.

05/05/2026

05/05/2026

Wright’s Block, coming back to life on High Street🙌

Every detail matters—from the proportions of each opening to the way the façade reads from the street. This is what thoughtful restoration looks like 🪟🧱

Built in partnership with First Peak Construction 🚧 🏗️

05/05/2026

Preservation meets performance.
Thanks for the First Peak Team for transforming Wright’s Block to its original character on High Street!