201 Canal, WinnResidential
Small (up to 150 units) Community of the Year Finalist

201 Canal is located at 201 Canal Street in Lowell’s Hamilton Canal Innovation District, a 13-acre corridor flanked by the Hamilton, Merrimack, and Pawtucket Canals. Once a thriving manufacturing hub supported by the largest power canal system in the United States, this vibrant, transit-oriented neighborhood now offers proximity to major businesses and downtown amenities.  

The four-story building reflects Lowell's manufacturing heritage through its architectural design and cultural significance, combining a steel-framed level with a brick veneer façade and three wood-framed stories featuring alternating wood and stone textures and colors for visual interest. The design includes retaining a historic brick seawall to enclose a lower-level courtyard, along with weathered-brick accent walls, hewn granite pavers, preserved steel wall bracing, and the city's only open-air roof deck. The roof deck offers panoramic canal vistas and overlooks a new Signature Bridge across the Pawtucket Canal.Each apartment features floor-to-ceiling windows, vinyl plank flooring throughout, stackable washers and dryers, and walk-in master closets. Kitchens and bathrooms include quartz worktops, white ceramic tile backsplashes, and gray Shaker-style cabinets, along with stainless steel Energy Star appliances and Water Sense plumbing fixtures.

Modern conveniences like an a fully equipped fitness center featuring a yoga studio and FitnessOnDemand™, a stylish resident lounge with tasting kitchen, a dog grooming area, with playful touches like a 10-foot tree in the lobby, instill a sense of novelty and excitement.

There is a canal-level patio with uplighting, planters, café seating, and views of the flowing Pawtucket Canal. In addition, there is a 1,000-square-foot rooftop deck, a fenced-in outdoor dog park called "201BARK," an outdoor kitchen, a media wall, and various communal areas.

The 1.34-acre site is bounded to the south by Canal Street and to the north by the Lower Pawtucket Canal. 201 Canal is less than a mile from the Lowell Regional Transit Authority and Gallagher Terminal, which provide frequent MBTA Commuter Rail service to and from Boston's North Station and many other locations in between.

201 Canal caters to renters of all income levels looking for an urban experience with access to downtown Lowell, rail connectivity to Boston, or highway access to Route 3 and Interstate 495. It also provided a convenient, safe, and attractive pedestrian connection between the Gallagher Terminal and the city's center, with a mix of new and old structures seamlessly blending in with the historic architecture.

It was designed with inviting indoor and outdoor amenity spaces to suit the post-COVID demands for outdoor space, the ability to work from home comfortably, and a sense of belonging to a community.

The property has 54 workforce housing apartments that are restricted to households making less than 100% of the area median income (AMI); 39 LIHTC units that are restricted to households earning less than 60%, 50%, and 30% AMI; and 32 unrestricted units that are rented at market rate. Eight of the LIHTC units are subject to a Section 8 Project-Based Voucher contract and are restricted to households earning less than 80% of the AMI; three are subject to a Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP) contract and are restricted to households earning less than 80% of the AMI. Community Teamwork, Inc. administers the low-income housing units.

A full-time property manager, leasing manager, and maintenance technician are on-site five days a week, and there is a 24-hour emergency maintenance service and an answering service after hours and on weekends.

Reviews for 201 Canal are positive on Google, Apartments.com, and Facebook, with an average rating of 4.5 out of 5, and mentioned the high-quality unit finishes, the array of amenities, and the staff's attentiveness and friendliness.

The market rate lease-up process began in July 2021, with buzz marketing to generate brand awareness. The property's taglines were "Meet Downtown Lowell's Newest Landmark" and "A Fresh Take on Downtown Living," produced in collaboration with Primary 360 Design Studio.

The full marketing stack went live in September 2021, with a temporary on-site hospitality suite and a fully-functional website launched to target the neighborhood's residents and property demographic. The model unit was completed in October 2021, and the "Tour & Explore" campaign began.

The community received its Certificate of Occupancy in January 2022, and a permanent leasing office opened. The first day of move-ins was February 1st. By March 31, 2022, all 39 tax-credit apartments were occupied, and by April 9, 2022, all 32 market-rate apartments were occupied. The community achieved 95% stabilization by the end of April and was fully occupied by May 13, 2022.

WinnResidential also streamlined rent collection by collaborating with RealPage's ActiveBuilding to develop a resident portal offering online bill payment and mobile work orders. As of December 2023, 96.46% of residents had registered with the portal, and 91% of service requests were completed on time. The RealPage Website Content Management System and OneSite Property Management Software also support leasing and operations efficiencies.

201 Canal offers critically-needed mixed-income housing in Lowell’s emerging Hamilton Canal Innovation District. Under Massachusetts General Law, Lowell is a “gateway city,” or a midsize city that serves as an economic hub for the areas around it, that has “stubborn social and economic problems” and “many assets with unmet potential.” As a Gateway City, Lowell has a strong base of organizations that offer opportunities to residents and businesses.

Public realm improvements included the preservation and reinforcement of a historic remnant wall along the lower Pawtucket Canal, a new courtyard area, and traffic and sidewalk improvements along Canal Street. 201 Canal combined two long and narrow properties separated by a public road. Some of the units are directly above the road, which allows vehicles to pass beneath them. Winn helped secure financing for the city to build a new "signature bridge," named for former Congresswoman Niki Tsongas. Additional public realm improvements included preserving and reinforcing a historic remnant wall along the lower Pawtucket Canal, a new courtyard area, and traffic and sidewalk improvements along Canal Street.

201 Canal is also an important component of an ongoing effort to revitalize downtown Lowell, which saw decades of economic decline during the twentieth century as the once-vibrant industrial powerhouse fell victim to shifting market conditions. 201 Canal brought $50 million in funding and momentum to recent construction projects like the $200 million Lowell Justice Center, a new district courthouse that opened in March 2020, and a $38 million, 903-space parking garage that opened in December 2020. Also under construction is a $343 million high school, whose opening is anticipated for the 2026–2027 school year.

201 Canal is Enterprise Green Communities-certified, meaning that it meets rigorous standards for sustainability and energy efficiency. Winn worked with ICON, New Ecology, and Keith Construction to make 201 Canal as energy-efficient as possible. As a result, depending on the usage of individual households, the community's HERS Index scores range from 46 to 58. This is 42% to 54% higher than the rating of 100 for a typical new home built to code.

At 201 Canal, each unit has its own specialized air-source system that uses high-efficiency Mitsubishi heat pumps for heating, cooling, and energy recovery ventilation. These systems have a heat pump unit inside and pipes that connect it to a condenser or compressor unit outside. The pipes use low-GWP chlorine-free hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) as the refrigerant.

The project created 27 new construction jobs, and 16% of the new hires were Section 3 residents. Additionally, 20% of total construction jobs went to Section 3 residents, and 11% of contract dollars awarded went to Section 3 businesses. Due to its success, Winn and the City of Lowell intend to construct a similar structure on a city-owned lot on the other side of the canal.

201 Canal is currently 94.4% leased and 97.6% occupied as of December 11, 2023. It has a retention rate of 69%, a 3% per calculation rent growth, and a 26% closing rate.

201 Canal caters to renters of all income levels looking for an urban experience with access to downtown Lowell, rail connectivity to Boston, or highway access to Route 3 and Interstate 495. It also provided a convenient, safe, and attractive pedestrian connection between the Gallagher Terminal and the city's center, with a mix of new and old structures seamlessly blending in with the historic architecture.

Lowell, New England's 11th-largest city, has a population of over 115,000 and is home to the second-largest Cambodian community in the US. In 2021, Lowell elected its first Cambodian American mayor. The leasing team uses the city's population and local non-profits, like the Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association, to promote workforce and middle-income housing options.

201 Canal is active on social media, making sure that residents are aware of happenings in downtown Lowell and in the surrounding communities. The management team frequently posts updates about local events, new businesses opening nearby, and fun contests on its Facebook, Instagram, Apartments.com, and Google My Business accounts.

The team works with Kingsley to survey residents at multiple touchpoints, including upon move-in, upon completion of maintenance orders, and when their tenancy is up for renewal. This enables Winn to obtain insightful feedback that can be applied towards improving our customer service and implementing beneficial changes.

When asked about why they chose to live at 201 Canal, 41.67% of survey respondents say, "downtown location," 25% of respondents cite "apartment features," 16.67% say "interior design and value," 8.33% say "proximity to work," and 8.33% cite "other reasons." An overwhelming majority of residents (68.8%) came to live at 201 Canal from other communities in Lowell.