State Awards Funds To 2 Downtown Boston Office Conversion Projects

Gov. Maura Healey's administration announced the state will provide millions in funding for two office-to-residential conversion projects in Boston.

The developers of the projects at 31 Milk St. and 15 Court Square have been awarded a combined $7.4M, Healey announced Wednesday. 

KS Partners was awarded $3.4M for its 80-unit redevelopment at 15 Court Square. Sixteen of those units will be income-restricted.

Dinosaur Capital Partners received $4M to build 110 units, including 22 income-restricted units, at 31 Milk St.

“Today, we’re supporting projects in downtown Boston that will turn vacant office space into hundreds of new apartments," Healey said in a statement. "We’re making it more affordable for families, workers and seniors to live in Massachusetts, while also supporting our local businesses and business owners.”

The state funding bolsters the efforts of the city government to incentivize office-to-residential conversions. The city's program aims to help office owners convert buildings to housing by offering a tax abatement for a 29-year period if projects dedicate some units as affordable and maintain ground-floor retail uses.

The Court Square and Milk Street projects have both applied for the city program, part of the 762 units of housing that have been approved or proposed since its inception in 2023. The city also expanded the program in March to include universities and employers looking to bring on more housing.

In March 2024, the governor launched a program to support conversions across the state through planning and technical assistance with up to $1M in funds. The program's first recipient was Synergy's One Chestnut Place conversion in Worcester. Once complete, One Chestnut Place will be home to 198 new market-rate apartments.

Healey's administration also this week identified 450 acres of underutilized state-owned properties that it plans to offer for housing development.