The Crocker Bank Building, an anchor property in the Turners Falls National Register Historic District, was gutted in a tragic fire with loss of life in 1997. Faced with the unacceptable prospect of having to tear the building down, the Town of Montague approached RDI and Historic Massachusetts, Inc. (HMI) for assistance. HMI obtained a Historic Preservation Project grant to stabilize the building and held it until RDI was able to put together the financing package. RDI combined reconstruction of the Crocker building with the restoration of a nearby block of attached brick row houses once used for housing by the employees of the Russell Cutlery factory – the Cutlery Block Apartments. Built in the mid-1800s and long neglected by a series of absentee owners, more than half the apartments were uninhabitable and drug activity was a major problem.
Following a 12-month restoration, the project was selected by the Massachusetts Historic Commission for a 2002 Historic Preservation award and was recognized by the Boston Globe as the first historic buildings in Massachusetts renovated to meet Energy Star standards. Both buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Buildings. Apartment rents are discounted to be affordable to households whose income is at or below 60% of the area median income for Franklin County.
To apply for an apartment in the Crocker Building or Cutlery Block, please visit the Franklin County Regional Housing & Redevelopment Authority website.
