Latest news with #AllyRzesa
Boston Globe
26-06-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
A Salem church leads charge to wean downtown off fossil fuels and lower electricity bills. Needed: cash to build.
The abrupt price hike thrust the church's ambition to wean itself from fossil fuels into overdrive. Now the church is looking into an ambitious renewable energy project to bake in long-term cost savings, but at an upfront cost in the tens of millions. As he described the project in his church's office, the gregarious parish priest constantly fielded calls, responded to texts, and greeted visitors. Ives switched seamlessly between English and Spanish as discussions ranged from a recent meeting on reparations, to preparations for Sunday services, to the new project called 'Heaven and Earth,' a proposed solar and geothermal network that would provide heating and cooling for much of downtown Salem. The solar — or 'heaven' — portion of the project would retrofit the 19th-century church with solar panels and batteries, transforming the building into a climate resilience hub. Advertisement The 'earth' part of the proposal calls for a roughly mile-and-a-quarter geothermal loop connecting 21 buildings, including public housing, museums, condos, commercial space, Salem's City Hall, and the church, which was founded on land donated by a wealthy merchant accused of witchcraft during the hysteria that consumed Salem in the late 1600s. Advertisement Ally Rzesa/Paul Horn, Inside Climate News Today, the congregation includes many low-income residents from a largely Latino neighborhood known as For Ana Nuncio, a member of the vestry, or parish council, and a founder of the Latino Leadership Coalition of Salem, the proposed solar and geothermal project has a strong biblical connection. ''I saw a new heaven and a new earth,'' she said, quoting the Book of Revelation. Nuncio said the project is an extension of work the church already does, writing checks to members of the congregation who are least able to pay the soaring costs of winter heating bills. 'What we're trying to do at St. Peter's is to bring relief,' she said, but also 'show that there can be a different way.' Last year the church received a $50,000 'Kickstart' grant, funded by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center and administered by the Boston-based nonprofit HEET, to begin developing the geothermal portion of its proposal. The grant was Salem's geothermal loop would circulate water mixed with antifreeze beneath city streets and connect to 450 boreholes drilled beneath Salem Common, a historic 9-acre park in the city center. Each borehole would be approximately 500 feet deep, tapping into subsurface thermal energy where temperatures are a steady 56 degrees year round. The pipes would harness this thermal energy for heating in winter and cooling in summer. The proposal was outlined in Advertisement Eight of the 21 buildings included in the report belong to the Peabody Essex Museum, one of the oldest art museums in the country. The museum had previously looked at installing its own geothermal system, but the high relative cost of a smaller system led officials to decide against it. 'We thought geothermal was a little out of reach for us in our initial assessments,' said Kurt Steinberg, the museum's chief operating officer. But he said that a communitywide project, and the economy of scale that comes with it, helps bring down the cost for everyone. 'And then it's not just you,' he said. 'You're all in it together.' The goal of the project goes beyond saving money. Salem has a goal of zeroing out 'We need to be thinking about projects like this to come anywhere close to reaching those goals, rather than one building at a time,' said Neal Duffy the city's director of sustainability and resiliency. Tina Jordan, executive director of the Salem Witch Museum, was one of more than a dozen community and business leaders who contributed to the report by sharing energy usage information. 'We want to hear, is this something that would be good for the neighborhood, the environment, and the community, and is it something we can afford?' Jordan said. The project would cost $56 million for the bore field and geothermal loop, according to the feasibility report. The figure does not include heat pumps, ductwork, or other modifications that may be required for individual buildings. Advertisement Federal tax credits could cut out-of-pocket costs by as much as half. However, a federal budget reconciliation bill making its way through Congress could end most Biden-era clean energy tax credits. The House version, passed in May, wouldn't immediately eliminate credits for commercial-scale geothermal projects but would end them three years earlier than planned. Projects would need to begin construction before Jan. 1, 2032. A draft of the Senate bill would preserve the existing Jan. 1, 2035, deadline for large scale geothermal heating and cooling projects. The clock is ticking to get the project started and address the big question: How would the community come up with all that extra money? Figuring out how to finance all of this, who will pay, or whether they need to scale back ambitions, are the next steps that project proponents are grappling with. In other communities, the city has contributed funds for large-scale energy projects, but Salem's mayor was noncommittal on that idea. Eric Bosworth oversaw the Framingham geothermal project when he worked for Eversource. Now running the consultancy Thermal Energy Insights, he praised the initial feasibility assessment for Salem but questioned some of the projected costs. He thinks the work could be done for less money. Lawrence Lessard, president of the New England Geothermal Professional Association and the director of Achieve Renewable Energy, which co-prepared the report, said the cost figures were preliminary, conservative, and based on the best available information. National Grid, the gas utility for Salem, is not currently involved in the Salem project but is supportive of it, said Christine Milligan, a spokeswoman for the company. Advertisement Meanwhile, Ives continues to pursue outside funding opportunities. He also systematically dials down thermostats and layers up during the winter. Reverend Nathan W. Ives in front of St. Peter's-San Pedro Episcopal Church in Salem. Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff A self-described 'sweater guy,' he raves about Icelandic sweaters and their triple-spun wool, which he says are 'wicked warm.' For the next few months, staying warm won't be a challenge. However, he dreads the fall, when he'll have to restart the church's aging steam boiler, a time when the heating system is most prone to failing. The church spent $10,000 on boiler repairs this past year alone, Ives said. 'We have to do something quickly, or as quickly as we can,' he said. This story is published in partnership with , a nonprofit, independent news organization that covers climate, energy, and the environment.
Boston Globe
26-03-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
Greater Boston home buyer hot spots
Ally Rzesa/GLOBE STAFF Advertisement The median sales price for a Lexington home was $2.9 million in February, Malkhasian also said in this post-COVID era, Hyde Park ($600,000) and West Roxbury ($825,000) are popular places for buyers who want something closer to the city, but wish to have a backyard. Dave Twombly is the principal broker/owner of Cambridge — where 14 homes sold in February at a median price of close to $2.5 million — is always a draw for those who can afford to live there. Single-family homes are hard to come by in Cambridge. Erin Clark/Globe Staff 'In the dead of last winter, I had clients in my neighborhood make an offer on a single-family home for close to $300,000 over asking, and they got beat out by another buyer because it was a single-family house in Cambridge,' he said. Many Cambridge buyers are committed to living in that city and will do whatever it takes for as long as it takes to buy a home there. Other communities just aren't like that, he said. Advertisement And the surge of the spring house hunt hasn't even begun yet. North of Boston Malkhasian said Melrose ($771,000) is a very hot community. It's got proximity to Boston, commuter rail, good schools, and a low crime rate. But on the day she spoke to the Globe, there were only four single-family homes for sale. 'The communities where inventory [are] very low is where you're going to see the crazy bidding wars and the waiving of all contingencies,' she said. 'We're even getting properties where buyers are obtaining a mortgage but are waiving their mortgage contingency [a clause giving the buyer the right to back out of the contract and have their deposit returned if they can't secure a mortgage] in an effort to compete with cash offers.' Homes in Melrose are quickly snapped up, but there are not many on the market. Surette Media Group Rich Rosa, cofounder and co-owner of Kevin Sexton of Reading ($951,600) has overtaken Melrose in desirability because it provides more land at a better value. 'People come to Reading from places like Cambridge, Winchester, and Arlington,' Sexton said. 'If they feel priced out of Reading, they used to go to Andover ($795,000), but since COVID, prices there have gone through the roof. If they can't afford Reading, they move out to Wilmington ($675,000) and even Tewksbury ($725,000). Houses in Reading and Wilmington still regularly sell for over the asking price.' Advertisement South of Boston Hillary Birch is with Quincy is a popular South Shore destination because of access to restaurants and the Red Line T station. Handout 'The first group is looking at Quincy ($650,000), Milton ($845,000), and Braintree ($654,000), but predominantly Quincy, she said. 'They still want access to restaurants and the Red Line T station. The second group is OK with being a little farther from the city and is usually looking in Norwell ($992,500), Hanover ($645,000), and if they can afford it, Hingham ($1.4 million).' But that hasn't always been the case. 'Quincy has gotten more expensive in recent years,' she said. 'If your budget is, say, $800,000, you can get a little bit more house in a nice town like Hanover than you can Quincy. The development that's happened in Quincy has elevated pricing. And people who fled the city during COVID and moved to somewhere like Plymouth, they're coming back.' West of Boston David Bates of Arlington ($1.2 million) and Needham ($1.6 million) are two popular buyer destinations west of Boston. And the numbers tell the story. Once listed for sale, single-family homes in Arlington are sold quickly. Matthew McNamara/Media by Domino 'In Arlington, the median sale price to list price ratio in 2024 was 104.25 percent,' he said. 'In 2023 it was 103.45 percent, which is very good. The median number of days to offer on sold properties was just six. It's practically impossible to get lower — kind of like it's impossible to have 100 percent employment. Advertisement Bates said there is reason to think there is even more room for growth. 'Arlington home prices could get a bump from new Cambridge zoning, which eliminates single-family zones,' he said. 'Arlington also borders other very good markets, like Cambridge, Winchester, and Medford. It is ahead of the game in 'In 2024, the median sale price of a single-family home in Needham was up $205,000 from 2023 according to MLS data, and was 101.3 percent of the asking price,' he said. 'There's great schools, new construction for sale, commuter rail access, and it borders some prestigious markets, like Wellesley, Newton, and Dover.' Jim Morrison can be reached at . Follow him on X .
Boston Globe
14-02-2025
- General
- Boston Globe
Love, slow zones, and Dunkin' iced coffee: Read our Boston-inspired Valentine's Day cards
@font-face { font-family: BentonSansCond-Regular; src: url(" format('woff2'), url(" format('woff'); } @font-face { font-family: BentonSansCond-Bold; src: url(" format('woff2'), url(" format('woff'); } .dipgrid { display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; align-items: stretch; margin: 25px -28px; } .dip__main { position: relative; overflow: hidden; } .dip__image { position: relative; top: 50%; left: 0%; } .dip__image.portrait { height: auto; width: 100%; padding-top: 24px; } .dip__image.landscape { height: auto; width: 100%; padding-top: 10px; } @media only screen and (min-width: 700px) { .dipgrid { display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; align-items: stretch; max-width: 1200px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; } .dip { width: 48.5%; } .dip:not(:nth-child(2n)) { margin-right: 3%; } .dip__image.portrait { height: auto; width: 100%; padding-top: 10px; } .dip__image.landscape { height: auto; width: 100%; padding-top: 0px; } .dip__main { position: relative; overflow: hidden; } } .dip_cap_cred { font-family: "BentonSansCond-Regular", "Times New Roman", Times, Georgia, serif; font-size: 10px; letter-spacing: .5px; text-align: left; margin: 3px 15px 10px 0px; font-weight: 200; text-align: right; } .dip_cap_cred span{ text-transform: uppercase; color: #6b6b6b; } .theme-dark .dark-mode .dip_cap_cred{ color: #fff; } .theme-dark .dark-mode .dip_cap_cred span { color: #fff; } @media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) { .theme-dark .dip_cap_cred { text-transform: uppercase; } .theme-dark .dip_cap_cred span{ text-transform: uppercase; } } Ryan Huddle / Globe staff Ally Rzesa / Globe staff, Images Dunkin', Adobe Ryan Huddle / Globe staff, Photo: Business Wire Ally Rzesa / Globe staff Ryan Huddle / Globe staff; Photo by John Tlumacki/Globe Staff! Ally Rzesa / Globe staff Ally Rzesa / Globe staff; Photo: Kit Riemer for the Boston Globe Ryan Huddle / Globe staff Ryan Huddle / Globe staff, Photo: Business Wire (Custom credit) Ally Rzesa / Globe staff Cecilia Mazanec can be reached at
