The Boston Housing Authority and its development partner have secured financing to kick off the redevelopment of one of the largest public housing complexes in the region.
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WinnCos. and BHA obtained a $70M construction loan for the first phase of their Mary Ellen McCormack public housing redevelopment in South Boston. The loan consists of $62M for the apartment building and $8M for infrastructure work.
The 112K SF apartment building will include 94 units designated for low-income families to relocate from other portions of the public housing complex. The building is expected to deliver in the fall of 2026.
It is the first phase of a larger mixed-use project planned to include 3,300 mixed-income units.
"This first building jumpstarts an ambitious and inspired undertaking many years in the making that will ultimately give rise to a new mixed-income and mixed-use neighborhood," WinnCos. CEO Gilbert Winn said in a press release.
The project is also planned to include a new Veterans Park with a tot lot and splash pad, a two-way bike lane and reconfigured public streets.
WinnCos and BHA secured the loan from Bank of America. Other funding was secured from MassHousing, Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing & Livable Communities, BHA and BlueHub Capital. The City of Boston also committed funding toward the project.
The public housing complex is one of the largest in the region and was built during the Great Depression in 1938. WinnCos. filed plans to redevelop the site in 2021, aiming to replace the site's existing 1,016 public housing units. The project was estimated to cost $1B.
The project would deliver 18 new buildings and 2.3 acres of open space. There would also be 44K SF of retail space between Andrew Square and Joe Moakley Park.
The redevelopment is just one of several public housing projects underway or planned in the city.
Leggat McCall partnered with the BHA and Charlestown Residents Alliance on a $1.4B redevelopment of the Bunker Hill public housing development in Charlestown. The project is planned to create 2,699 residential units, of which 37% will be income-restricted.
In 2024, Mayor Michelle Wu pledged to create 3,000 additional public housing units across the city over the next decade, including ongoing projects like the West End library redevelopment.
