In the wealthiest part of the city, the plan calls for the construction of a skyscraper with 200 income-restricted apartments.
The Massachusetts Port Authority has completed the planning process for a $170 million affordable housing project that will be located in the Seaport district of Boston, which is the most affluent neighbourhood in the city. The project is exceptional, if not one of a kind.
According to a report in the Boston Globe, the 224,000-square-foot proposal calls for the building of a skyscraper with 15 stories and 200 apartments, all of which will be offered at rents that are below market rates.
The Community Builders, a real estate development company based in Boston, and Menkiti Group, a development company based in Washington, D.C., both have African-American ownership and are collaborating on this project as a joint venture. In addition to having 15,000 square feet dedicated to child care and retail space, the skyscraper will make use of all-electric technologies and have solar panels atop its roof.
In Boston, there have been ongoing efforts made to both increase the available housing stock and bring rents back under control. In the spring of 2017, an attempt to implement rent control was defeated by the State House. However, the petition submitted by state Representative Mike Connolly to have the ban on rent control placed statewide in 1994 lifted was approved by the Attorney General of Massachusetts earlier this month. At some point in the not-too-distant future, voters will get the chance to cast their votes on how they feel about the situation.
The income-restricted apartments will be accessible at four distinct income tiers, ranging from 30 percent to 120 percent of the region median income (roughly $44,520 to $178,080 for a family of four). It is anticipated that monthly rents will range anywhere from $950 to over $3,000, with the exact amount being dependent on the income and size of the household.
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The authority, which is a significant landowner in the Seaport region, has been an instrumental contributor to the rapid growth of the neighbourhood. In the midst of Boston’s struggle to address the growing affordability challenge, this organisation launched an initiative nearly two years ago to involve affordable housing developers.
Massport placed a strong emphasis on diversity, project design, and programming when making their choice to work with The Community Builders. In addition, according to the statement, Massport placed a higher priority on the cost-effectiveness of the project than it did on its financial return.
According to Andrew Hargens, the chief development officer for Massport, the process of obtaining the necessary permissions and money may take up to three years. It is expected that the project will apply for affordable housing subsidies from both the state and the federal government.
