The Old Dorchester Post, a landmark in Adams Village for more than a century, has been sold to a development team that intends to replace it with a new mixed-use building geared towards older residents.

The property at 500 Gallivan Blvd. was sold over the summer for $1.8 million to a trio of investors, including Tony King, a Savin Hill native who lives in Milton, but maintains strong roots in Dorchester and owns Beantown USA, a business on Granite Avenue.

The American Legion Post 65, which once boasted hundreds of members and featured a popular basement bar and a busy function hall for special events, shut down its operations recently.

On Thursday, a World War II-era cannon that once greeted visitors to the post, was craned onto a flatbed truck and driven away. It was the first public signal that the property had changed hands, although King says the transaction occurred about two months ago.

King told the Reporter that his partners are Nick Landry, an architect, and Douglas Keach, a builder. King says the trio “share the same mindset” about what they intend to do with the site.

“We’re going to put [units for 55-65 plus [adults] in there,” said King, who said the new building complex would probably rise five stories with ground level commercial space for a restaurant, although he cautioned that the plan has not yet been finalized. King said he has spoken to several Adams Village stakeholders who agree that rental housing for older adults would be a good fit in the neighborhood.

"I’m thinking of people like my mother, who just sold her home and would like to stay in the city, but can’t do both. That’s what Dorchester- and the city— really needs right now. We’ve got the Keystone Apartments, but that’s not what it used to be.”

King indicated that he may also seek to redevelop the building he owns at 132 Granite Ave., which houses his sporting goods and apparel business, Beantown USA.

For now, he said, the former Old Dorchester Post will be the focus of his efforts. He expects to have more expansive plans to share with abutters and civic leaders in the coming months.

The Old Dorchester Post A.L. 65 — located next to the Eire Pub— has been a fixture in the Adams Village neighborhood since right after the First World War. City records show the building was constructed in 1919. The veterans post that has been housed there was incorporated in 1931, according to public records.

The “ODP” — as its known to many longtime residents — was also available as a rental space and hosted many events, from candidate fundraisers and retirement parties to civic meetings over the decades. Veterans who belonged to the post often gathered there for their own social events and sometimes used the post as a starting point for Memorial Day ceremonies in the neighborhood. Its membership peaked in the 1950s and 60s as returning GIs from World War II & the Korean war settled in Dorchester and surrounding communities. More recently, however, the ranks dwindled and like several other veterans posts in the city, the ODP struggled to recruit new members and stay viable financially.

The cannon that was removed from the site today was owned by the American Legion, according to King, who was recently a candidate for state representative in Milton and Randolph. The gun was being relocated to a veterans post on Cape Cod, according to Steve Bickerton, Jr., who served as a real estate broker on the sale for the listing agent, Coldwell Banker.