Massachusetts Housing Chief To Step Down
The official at the helm of Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey’s efforts to address the housing affordability crisis will resign to take a C-suite role in the banking industry.
Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus is stepping down after two years in the role, and his last day will be Feb. 27, the Healey administration announced Thursday.
Augustus, who had served as Worcester city manager during its recent economic revival, is leaving to become CEO of UniBank.
He will be replaced by Juana Matias, a former state representative from Lawrence who had served as regional administrator for the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“Her experience leading transformative housing policies across New England makes her an incredible choice to lead the future of housing for Massachusetts,” Lieutenant Gov. Kim Driscoll said in a statement.
In his time as the commonwealth’s housing secretary, Augustus oversaw enforcement of the landmark MBTA Communities Act. The housing law, which required cities and towns served by the MBTA to allow some multifamily housing by right, became law in 2021 but endured several legal challenges from reticent communities before it could be fully rolled out.
A Boston think tank report found that in mid-2025, there were 102 developments in the pipeline across 34 communities under the MBTA Communities Act. The developments, most of which were in the early stages, would add up to just under 7,000 housing units.
Augustus and other administration officials also helped shepherd the passage of the Affordable Homes Act, which was signed into law in 2024. The law calls on the state to finance $5.1B to support housing creation.
He also took part in the 2023 creation of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, a cabinet-level office that supplants the subcabinet Department of Housing and Community Development.
This will be the eighth cabinet-level official Healey will need to replace since she took office in January 2023.
Like many politicians, she has made affordability a centerpiece of her campaign for reelection, which she kicked off last month, and she has said she sees housing as a big part of delivering on that promise. Her administration has set a goal to build 220,000 new housing units in the state by 2035. Last month, her administration rolled out an initiative to streamline the environmental review process and speed up housing development.
