Months of organizing by residents have culminated in success as the hillside Nassau Gardens apartment complex off Route 1 officially transitions into a tenant-owned cooperative.

$4 Million HUD Purchase and 100 Percent Subscription

According to Michael Murphy, president of the Nassau Gardens Cooperative Housing Association Inc., the association will take title to the property on Friday. The $4 million purchase price—averaging $19,600 per dwelling unit—was set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which took control of the 19-acre complex roughly 18 months ago after the original private owner defaulted on the mortgage and banks foreclosed.

While HUD’s deadline for tenant purchase options ran until September 28, all 204 apartments and townhouses have already been spoken for:

• Tenant Participation: About 180 current tenant families (88 percent) signed subscription agreements.
• New Buyers: Roughly 20 to 25 non-residents also secured units.
• Unit Breakdown: The brick-and-frame complex spans six blocks and includes 25 one-bedroom apartments, 159 two-bedroom apartments, and 20 three-bedroom townhouses, alongside an Olympic-size swimming pool.

Murphy noted that shareholders’ initial “down payment” for a cooperative share is roughly equal to one month’s rent, with security deposits eligible to be applied. The cooperative secured a 40-year, privately funded mortgage totaling $4,272,500 through Berg Mortgage Finance Company of Boston at a favorable 9.5 percent interest rate, with funds above the purchase price covering conversion, legal, and closing costs. An official takeover ceremony is scheduled for October 14.

Under the new non-profit corporate structure, monthly charges (rents) have been established at $310 for one-bedroom, $355 for two-bedroom, and $430 for three-bedroom units. While recent rent increases reflected costs accumulated during 18 months of HUD administration, future adjustments will be governed strictly by operating expenses under a nine-member board of directors to be elected in November.

Suspicious Fire Strikes Vacant Medical Building on Washington Street—September 24, 1979

NORWOOD — Firefighters battled another suspicious fire early Saturday morning at a vacant two-story medical building on Washington Street near Railroad Avenue.

History of Suspicious Blazes at Vacant Washington Street Property

The 1:00 a.m. blaze damaged a former office in the rear of the first floor, according to Fire Lt. Robert Molloy. Officials were unable to estimate a dollar figure for the damage because, as Molloy noted, “it was tough to say where the last fire left off and this one began.”

The structure has been plagued by several suspicious fires over the preceding three or four years, with a prior major incident occurring the day after the Blizzard of 1978. No firefighters were injured in Saturday’s blaze, and town fire records did not list a current owner of the property.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger