Boston real estate has had people creating unique solutions for housing for years, but this latest move, from Sal’s pizza owner Sal Lupoli definitely takes the cake (or slice, in this case).
Lupoli, and his wife Kati, will be moving into a brick Georgian revival-style building in the North End that once served the Sumner and Callahan tunnels, after some extensive renovations, Boston.com reports.
Back in October 2017, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation put the Traffic Tunnel Administration Building up for sale. Lupoli put in the winning bid, for $3.75 million. The property changed hands in 2021, and Lupoli has just won approval from the Zoning Board of Appeal to convert 128 North St. into a three-bedroom single-family home.
The new owner needed to go before the zoning board because single family homes are a rarity in the North End, reports Universal Hub. In theory, he could have turned the building into apartments or condo, but the lot's zoning requires board approval for single-family homes.
Lupoli admits he was consumed with owning this historic piece of the North End. “I looked at it when I saw it and said, ‘There’s our new home, Kati,’” Lupoli told the Boston Globe, “That’s what I wanted. I was just relentless to acquire it.”
The building looks a lot more like a town hall or state building than a home, but the location right in the North End overlooking the Rose Kennedy Greenway was a selling point for the developer and founder of Sal’s Pizza chain. A major developer in the Merrimack Valley, Lupoli and his wife wanted to be closer to their children, who both live in Boston.
This is a sort of homecoming for Lupoli, who grew up in East Boston, but held his first pizzeria job in the neighborhood while he attended Northeastern University. These days his Sal’s Pizza empire, which he started in Salem, NH, has more than 20 standalone restaurants, as well as express locations and even the frozen aisle in grocery stores.
Lupoli plans to complete renovations over the next two years, at a cost we’re not going to attempt to calculate, but it’s sure to be impressive.
“I want the North End to be proud of it. … I want to restore it to the original condition of what it was 100 years ago,” Lupoli told the Globe.
And while it is on your mind, check out our list of the best Italian restaurants and the best pizza restaurants in Boston, many of which are in the North End.