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Beverly Farms & Prides Crossing, Massachusetts

Estates, farmhouses and village houses in Beverly Farms and Prides Crossing

  • Beverly Farms
  • Prides Crossing
  • West Beach
  • Hale Street

Beverly Farms and Prides Crossing are the eastern end of the City of Beverly, strung along Hale Street out to the Manchester line. We have remodeled a kitchen and a primary bath here, and the planning questions on this stretch differ from downtown Beverly: ledge in the woods, wetlands behind the houses, estate-era construction, and a Specialized energy code for anything built new.

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Key planEssex County · MA
Mass. BayBeverly FarmsPenney HQ
≈ 6.1 mi from Penney HQ in Peabody (straight line)

About 6.1 miles from Peabody to Beverly Farms & Prides Crossing. Straight-line distance to our Peabody base

Houses here

The houses of Beverly Farms & Prides Crossing, era by era

Beverly's open space plan calls this shoreline the Gold Coast. Summer families from Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and Washington built estates along it, and much of the waterfront is still privately owned. Behind the shore the land climbs into rolling woods broken by bedrock outcrops and red maple swamps. Beverly Farms keeps a small, walkable village center beside its train station, with shops at the sidewalk and parking behind.

  1. 1700s

    Farmhouses from the 1700s

    The oldest layer comes from the area's farming years. The First Period Captain Robert Haskell House on Hale Street, its oldest section tree-ring dated to about 1713, joined the National Register in 2022. In a frame this old, a new door or window opening gets an engineer's look before anyone cuts a post or brace.

  2. 1800s–1900s

    Summer estates, late 1800s to early 1900s

    From the late 1800s into the early 1900s, Prides Crossing and Beverly Farms filled with summer estates. Henry Clay Frick's Eagle Rock and the Swift family's Swiftmoor were among them, and Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.'s summer house is a National Historic Landmark. Estate houses can hide slate or copper roofs, plaster, original millwork and several generations of mechanical systems. We survey before we open anything, and lead-safe practice applies to everything built before 1978.

  3. 03

    Newer houses on subdivided estate land

    The city's 2018–19 historic survey notes that many Beverly estate houses have been demolished and replaced and their acreage subdivided, so newer large houses now stand among the survivors. Any teardown starts with the city's demolition review, and the replacement falls under the Specialized Energy Code.

Before you build

Before you build in Beverly Farms & Prides Crossing

What local rules, the ground and the energy code ask of a project here, each with the source we checked. Rules change and some depend on the parcel, so we confirm them with the building department before anything is drawn.

  1. Terrain

    Ledge from Curtis Point to Prides Crossing

    Beverly's open space plan maps shallow-to-bedrock soils from Curtis Point east to Prides Crossing and describes the Beverly Farms woods as full of bedrock outcrops; east of Prides Crossing toward Manchester the mapped soils are mostly sandier Merrimac-Hinckley types. We dig test pits early, because foundations, pools and additions on ledge may need hammering or blasting.

    Source : Beverly Open Space & Recreation Plan 2022 (soils by area, Beverly Farms woodlands, West Beach, Gold Coast, 95% sewer)

  2. Local note

    Red maple swamps and the 50-foot line

    Behind the shore, the woods hold many red maple swamps. Beverly's wetland regulations keep most buildings, additions, pools and pool decks, patios, decks, sheds and driveways out of the 50 feet nearest a wetland, and bar grading, clearing and filling within 25 feet. Replacing an older structure in the same footprint is exempt. We get the wetland line flagged and a site plan drawn before an addition is designed.

    Source : Beverly Chapter 565 Wetlands Protection Regulations (25-ft No-Disturbance, 50-ft No-Build)

  3. Historic district

    No historic district, but a demolition review

    No design board reviews exterior changes here; Beverly's one local historic district is Fish Flake Hill, downtown. What does apply is the citywide demolition review. Taking down all or part of a building over 50 years old, including part of an estate house for a rebuild, goes to the Historic District Commission first, and a preferably-preserved finding can hold the permit up to 12 months.

    Guide: Historic district renovation on the North Shore: what needs approval and what doesn'tSource : Beverly Historic District Commission (Fish Flake Hill LHD; demolition delay)

  4. Coastal & wetlands

    West Beach and the ocean-side lots

    A 2017 flood map revision covered the shore from about Paine Avenue to the Manchester line. On low, ocean-facing lots and near West Beach, a barrier beach, check AE or VE status lot by lot on the current map. Seawalls, piers and floats on flowed or filled tidelands generally need a Chapter 91 license as well as Conservation Commission approval, and salt exposure calls for stainless or hot-dip galvanized fasteners and corrosion-resistant flashing. Our coastal homes page covers the rest.

    Guide: The FEMA 50 percent rule in Massachusetts: renovating a house in a flood zoneSource : City of Beverly: FEMA Flood Maps (2017 revision, Paine Avenue to the Manchester line)

  5. Energy code

    Teardowns rebuild to the Specialized code

    Since January 1, 2026, new homes and full rebuilds anywhere in Beverly, including here, fall under the Specialized Energy Code. On an estate lot that usually means deciding early between an all-electric house and a mixed-fuel one carrying on-site solar and electric pre-wiring, because that choice sets the electrical service and the roof layout.

    Guide: Massachusetts stretch code requirements for additions, ADUs and renovationsSource : DOER adoption map and list (Beverly Specialized code effective 1/1/2026; ACEC-MA copy)

  6. ADU rules

    The train station and the parking space

    Beverly allows ADUs by right in single-family districts when the lot has no nonconformity and needs no relief, up to 1,000 square feet or half the house. State rules bar requiring parking for a protected ADU within half a mile of a station with year-round service. Beverly Farms station counts; Prides Crossing station has had no service since December 2020, so it does not. Short-term rental of an ADU is banned in Beverly. Confirm current rules with the city, and see our ADU guide.

    Guide: Massachusetts ADU law (2025): what homeowners can buildSource : Beverly ADU Ordinance page (2023 ordinance; 2026 amendments)

Penney in Beverly Farms & Prides Crossing

Our work in Beverly Farms & Prides Crossing

From our own job list: projects in Beverly Farms & Prides Crossing that are finished, underway or under contract. Client names and addresses stay private.

In Beverly Farms & Prides Crossing

  • CompleteKitchen remodel and primary bath remodel

Nearby: Beverly

  • CompleteRear addition and a second-floor primary suite addition
  • CompleteKitchen remodel, plus basement, hallway and laundry work
  • CompleteKitchen remodel, everything new

As of September 2026

What we build here

What we build in Beverly Farms & Prides Crossing

  • Kitchens

    In an estate-era house a new kitchen sits among original millwork, plaster and older mechanical runs. We decide what is worth keeping before the layout is final, not after demolition.

  • Primary baths

    Doing a primary bath and a kitchen as one project means one round of demolition and one plumbing plan. In older houses we work out drain and vent routes, and lead-safe demolition, before choosing tile.

  • Whole-home renovation

    Large estate houses usually need a survey of roofing, plaster, millwork and several generations of systems before a scope can be priced honestly. We do that survey first.

  • ADUs and in-law suites

    A carriage house or outbuilding conversion near the Beverly Farms station can avoid the parking requirement; deeper in the woods, ledge and the 50-foot wetland line decide where a new cottage can sit.

Questions

Questions we hear in Beverly Farms & Prides Crossing

Is Beverly Farms or Prides Crossing a local historic district?

No. Beverly's only local historic district is Fish Flake Hill, downtown, so additions and exterior changes here need zoning compliance and a building permit, with no design review. The exception is demolition, full or partial, of any building more than 50 years old, which the Historic District Commission reviews and can delay up to 12 months.

Can I build an ADU near the Beverly Farms train station, and do I need parking for it?

Usually you can build one, and near the station you likely will not need a parking space. State rules bar parking requirements for a protected ADU within half a mile of a station with year-round service, and Beverly Farms station on the Newburyport/Rockport Line counts. Prides Crossing station has had no service since December 2020. Beverly allows ADUs by right where the lot has no zoning nonconformity and needs no relief, and bans transient rental. Confirm the current ordinance with Beverly Municipal Inspections.

What makes building in Prides Crossing and Beverly Farms harder than elsewhere in Beverly?

Three things. Ledge, especially from Curtis Point to Prides Crossing and in the Beverly Farms woods, which affects foundations and drainage. Wetlands: Beverly keeps most new structures out of the 50 feet nearest a wetland, and the woods are full of red maple swamps. And since January 1, 2026, new homes must meet the Specialized Energy Code. Plan for a wetland delineation, test pits and an energy-code strategy before final design.

Is my estate lot on city sewer?

Most likely, but check. About 95 percent of Beverly homes have city water and sewer; the rest use private wells, septic systems or both, and the city does not say how many of those are in Beverly Farms or Prides Crossing. On a septic lot, Title 5 ties bedroom count to the system's design flow, so we confirm before planning added bedrooms or an ADU.

Sources

Facts checked September 30, 2026Job list as of September 2026

  1. 01Beverly Open Space & Recreation Plan 2022 (soils by area, Beverly Farms woodlands, West Beach, Gold Coast, 95% sewer)
  2. 02Beverly Chapter 565 Wetlands Protection Regulations (25-ft No-Disturbance, 50-ft No-Build)
  3. 03Beverly Historic District Commission (Fish Flake Hill LHD; demolition delay)
  4. 04City of Beverly: FEMA Flood Maps (2017 revision, Paine Avenue to the Manchester line)
  5. 05DOER adoption map and list (Beverly Specialized code effective 1/1/2026; ACEC-MA copy)
  6. 06Beverly Historic Resources Survey Update 2018-2019 (estates, demolition and subdivision pressure)
  7. 07Beverly ADU Ordinance page (2023 ordinance; 2026 amendments)
  8. 08Beverly ADU ordinance as adopted (Ord. No. 184A, Section 300-55)
  9. 09Beverly National Register listings (Holmes House NHL; Fish Flake Hill LHD)
  10. 10Wikipedia: Captain Robert Haskell House (c. 1713; NRHP 2022)
  11. 11Wikipedia: Prides Crossing (Eagle Rock, Swiftmoor)
  12. 12Wikipedia: Prides Crossing station (service suspended December 2020)
  13. 13Wikipedia: Beverly Farms station

Town rules change, and some depend on the parcel. We use these as a starting point and confirm with the building department, planning office or conservation commission before design.

Start a project

Tell us about your house in Beverly Farms & Prides Crossing.

We walk it with you, measure, check what the town will require, and talk through design, budget and schedule before anything is drawn.

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(978) 854-5383

HIC #198443 · CSL CS-099765