450 Acres Of State-Owned Land Identified For Housing Development
Massachusetts leaders are looking to ramp up housing production by offering more state-owned land for development.
Gov. Maura Healey's administration identified 450 acres she hopes can yield over 3,500 units of housing, the state announced Monday. There are already 1,500 units underway on state-owned properties.
"From day one, I pledged to use every tool to build more housing and lower costs across the state," Healey said in a statement. "That’s why I directed our team to find state properties that could be turned into housing."
Of the 17 new sites, the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance office aims to make requests for proposals available soon for 10 properties, and it plans to put the other seven up for auction in September.
Over the next six months, DCAMM plans to issue requests for proposals for vacant court buildings in Lowell and Fitchburg as well as sites at Bridgewater State University and Middlesex Community College.
The state plans to auction off several parcels across two sites at the former Westboro State Hospital and the former J.T. Berry Rehabilitation Center.
Other sites will be made available in late 2025 and 2026, including MCI Concord, Lowell Superior Court, the former Industrial School for Girls in Lancaster and the former Monson Developmental Center campus.
Projects already underway on state-owned land include 466 housing units being built on the former Boston State Hospital campus in Mattapan, a 241-unit project at the former Veterans Home at Chelsea in Chelsea and approximately 350 units being constructed at The South Campus at Salem State University in Salem.
