By Dan Murphy
The Fenway CDC’s proposed project that would bring much-needed affordable-housing ownership opportunities to Beacon Hill was discussed during a virtual community meeting sponsored by the city’s Planning Department on Wednesday, March 26.
Two adjacent properties at 27-29 Hancock St., which are poised to be redeveloped into 15 affordable homeownership units.
Per its agreement with developer JDMD, the nonprofit Fenway CDC (Community Development Center) will redevelop two adjacent properties located at 27-29 Hancock St. on Beacon Hill into 15 units at 80-100 percent AMI (Area Median Income) for new homeowners. None of the units will be SROs (Single Room Occupancy units), and JDMD has also agreed to donate up to $300,000 for any possible cost overruns that the project might incur.
JDMD, which developed The Archer Residences – a luxury condo building on Temple Street – purchased 27-29 Hancock St. in 2018, with plans to gift the buildings to another developer for the creation of off-site affordable housing units to satisfy its IDP (Inclusionary Development Policy) with the city for the Archer project.
Attorney Jennifer Schultz said JDMD purchased the pair of Hancock Street buildings, which had historically served as rooming houses, with small rooms and a communal space, about seven years ago.
Since that time, the project has undergone three different iterations, said Schultz, with the first being a project comprising 39 rental SROs, which met largely with an unfavorable community response.
A second iteration of the project also proposed rental SROs while working with a permanent supportive -ousing operator for significantly underserved and low-income communities, added Schultz, but that proposal was also roundly rejected by the community.
The third iteration came in response to extensive collaboration between the Mayor’s Office of Housing and other stakeholders, including Rep. Jay Livingstone, District 8 City Councilor Sharon Durkan, the Beacon Hill Civic Association, and Homes on Hancock – a grass-roots group which has continually advocated for the creation of adequate affordable housing at 27-29 Hancock St., noted Schultz.
“We found a way that, for all intents and purposes, served everyone’s needs, without becoming a concern to everyone,” said Schultz, who added that per the current arrangement, JDMD would donate the two buildings, together worth north of $10 million, to Fenway CDC, which would in turn become the owner and operator of these properties.
The unit mix for the project would comprise two studios, seven one-bedrooms, and six two-bedrooms, said Suneeth John, Fenway CDC’s deputy director and head of real estate.
Expected unit costs would range from $188,032 at 80-percent AMI, or $248,560 at 100-percent AMI for a studio; $228,280 at 80-percent AMI, or $298,896 at 100-percent AMI for a one-bedroom; or $268,840 at 80-percent AMI, or $348,088 at 100-percent AMI for a two-bedroom.
The city’s Boston Home Center would market the units to first-time home buyers, said Eddie Quinn, project manager for the Fenway CDC, with those units expected to hit the market in the fall of 2027.
Steve Farrell, executive director of the Fenway CDC, pledged his group would work with the neighborhood to come up with a construction management plan to help mitigate the project’s impact on neighbors.
“We always make a point of working with stakeholders to find out what their priorities are,” added Farrell.
Rep. Livingstone commended everyone involved in this “great collaborative effort.”
In response to concerns regarding funding for the project, especially in light of the uncertainty now surrounding some federal funding sources, Rep. Livingstone said this project would be financed by “capital dollars, so this is much more secure.”
Councilor Durkan thanked Rep. Livingstone for successfully “getting everyone to the table” and also noted the project was made possible in part via a $1 million American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant she helped secure as Chair of the Council’s COVID-19 Recovery Committee.
Harold Brink, president of Homes on Hancock, said his group is strongly in support of the latest proposal. He extended his gratitude to “everyone involved in the project for the past few years who came up with a plan we’re very excited about.”
Brink added, “I’m really pleased everyone was willing to listen, and that now, we have a high-quality plan.”
Also during public testimony, Patricia Tully, executive director of the Civic Association, read a statement from Joshua Leffler, chair of the group’s board of directors.
“We have emphasized the importance of larger, multi-room units that can serve low- and moderate-income families, rather than SROs for PSH purposes,” Leffler wrote in part. “The BHCA believes that this project, is not only consistent with the IDP but is also a meaningful step forward for Beacon Hill and the City of Boston.”
Leffler expressed the Civic Association’s gratitude to Rep Livingstone, Councilor Durkan, Sheila Dillon and Adam Goldstein from the Mayor’s Office of Housing, JDMD, and Homes on Hancock “for advocating for and being receptive to the desires of the community.”
“We look forward to welcoming Fenway CDC and our new neighbors,” added Leffler on behalf of the BHCA.