The Sheetmetal Workers Union Local 17 has purchased the former Rent-All of Boston site next to its training school and union hall on Adams Street in Lower Mills for $3.8 million after a previous owner, a developer with plans for a condo project that won city approvals last year, elected not to move forward with his plans.

Bob Butler, president of Local 17, said the union bought the property with an eye to the future, and with no present plans for expansion. “We’ll probably sit on it,” he said. “Did we pay more money than we should have? Absolutely we did. But what are you going to do? It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity for us…Land like this doesn’t go up for sale often in Dorchester and we had to take action.

“We will come out to the community and talk about our plans when we know more about what we want to do,” he added. “Honestly, it will probably be years down the road until we get there.”

The property in question at 1661-1671 Adams St. had long been coveted by the union, which thought it would get early notice when Rent-All was ready to sell. Instead, the property was offered through a broker to North End developer Bill Caulder, who then proposed a five-story, 29-unit condo building with underground parking on the site.

After several public meetings, Caulder’s plan was approved by the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) in August 2022.

Butler said that Caulder’s plan apparently didn’t make sense for him any longer, and he approached them with an offer, which the union negotiated recently and closed on last month.

Caulder confirmed to the Reporter via e-mail that he had abandoned the condo project and had sold the property to the union.

Butler said that in the short-term the union will be demolishing the condemned house on the property. He added that they didn’t pay a premium to make it into a parking lot, so that is out. However, he said, it could be a gateway to the existing school or some kind of addition to the school.