BOSTON — The Boston Housing Authority (BHA) has selected WinnCompanies, a Boston-based developer of mixed-income multifamily properties, to deliver a $1.6 billion redevelopment of the Mary Ellen McCormack public housing development in South Boston.
The redevelopment project will demolish the 27 three-story buildings that comprise the property. It will replace all of the existing 1,016 units with a combination of workforce housing for middle-income residents, as well as market-rate apartments and condominiums. The total number of units will remain the same.
The BHA intends for the project to leverage the 27-acre property’s market value to avoid displacement of and preserve affordability for the city’s low-income residents. It also aims to ensure that the property will remain operational in the long run.
“It is important that we think outside the box to preserve our existing affordable housing and develop new housing to meet the future needs of all our city’s residents,” says Boston Mayor Martin Walsh. “This project has the potential to meet the housing needs of people from a broad spectrum of economic backgrounds.”
Mary Ellen McCormack was built in the 1930s and is the first public housing project in New England. The redevelopment site will be located along Old Colony Avenue near Interstate 93 in South Boston.
The property currently offers a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units and amenities such as tennis and basketball courts, an on-site health center and space for public events at the center of the development. Rents are calculated at 30 percent of residents’ income, with tenants also having the option to choose a flat rental rate.
Construction is expected to begin within two to three years pending approvals from city, state and federal regulators. Demolitions will occur in phases over multiple years.
— Taylor Williams