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BOSTON - Friday, April 28, 2023 - City of
Boston officials, Lena Park Community Development Corporation, New Boston
Fund, MassHousing, and Commonwealth Builders celebrated the start of
construction for the Preserve at Olmsted Green, the last phase of homeownership
at Olmsted Green with 80 units of housing. The project is part of the City
of Boston's commitment to increasing homeownership opportunities and
building generational wealth.
"Homeownership is a critical pathway to
building generational wealth and achieving economic stability for
families," said Mayor Michelle Wu. "I am thrilled to
break ground on this project, which will provide affordable homeownership
opportunities for families in our city. I am proud of the work that we are
doing to increase homeownership opportunities for Boston residents, and I
am excited to see the Olmstead Green project come to life."
“The Mayor's Office of Housing was pleased
to support the Olmsted development, which will create new homes in the
Mattapan community. The development will provide homeownership
opportunities and housing stability for 80 Boston families,” said Sheila
Dillon, Chief of Housing. “This significant development was made
possible through a strong partnership between the City, State and
community. The Olmsted project
is an example of the City’s commitment to creating affordable opportunities
for Boston residents and strengthening our neighborhoods.”
The event was held Wednesday in the recently
completed 3,000-square-foot Gateway Center on the West Campus, which offers
a community and family event center, cyber-café, fitness center, and
management offices. Lena Park CDC and Winn Management will run ongoing
financial literacy and access to homeownership training, job training and
placement programs, and community events.
“Congratulations to the extended Olmsted
Green partnership and the entire Mattapan community on reaching this
historic milestone, nearly 20 years in the making to begin the final phase
with this incredible affordable homeownership project,” said Lieutenant
Governor Kim Driscoll. “Local leadership and coordinated resources have
created a green, inclusive, and vibrant neighborhood by continuing to
center the needs of residents. This dedication created hundreds of new
homes for families and individuals of all incomes, parks, and playgrounds,
and the new Gateway Center to support a vibrant pocket of Boston.”
“As one of the lead advocates for the
creation of the Commonwealth Builders program, it is important to bring
more homeownership to Olmsted Green. The success and innovation in
delivering a solution for homeownership at Olmsted Green was essentially a
proof of concept that has led to millions of dollars from the Commonwealth
being dedicated to affordable homeownership and not just affordable
rental,” said State Rep. Russell Holmes. “Homeownership has
provided the most powerful path to wealth creation in history and will
provide a brighter future for current home-owners and future home-owners
who will soon call The Preserve at Olmsted Green home.”
This phase of the development also completes
the comprehensive network of open
space pursuant to the Olmsted Green Open
Space Master Plan, which was updated in 2021 to ensure project-wide open
space coordination. The West Campus contains pedestrian pathways and rain
gardens. There are pedestrian network links to the community amenities
including The Gateway Center, tot-lots, BBQ/seating areas, nature areas,
Brooke Ballfield, and other adjacent amenities. There are also abundant
trees throughout the property as well as a stormwater management system to
reduce water flow to Mass Audubon/Boston Nature Center, a 30-foot setback,
and all private roads use permeable pavement for natural infiltration.
The project is being developed by a
partnership between National Development, Lena Park CDC, New Boston Fund,
and the Caribbean Integration Community Development. Construction is
expected to be completed by the fall of 2024.
“We are all so proud of this tremendous
accomplishment that took almost twenty years and many community leaders and
public funding village participants to pull off,” said Jerry
Rappaport Jr., founder of New Boston Fund. “Our partnership with the
Lena Park CDC along with the steadfast support of Representative Russell
Holmes - who stuck with the original vision and the compelling need to
finish the project for the benefit of the entire community - is a testament
to the broad-based commitment to close the home ownership gap in Boston. This
development and community approval team demonstrated great flexibility and
support as our development program has evolved to meet the changing
marketplace.”
“This is a momentous time to lead the Lena
CDC. I know I speak for the whole Lena CDC team when I say it is exciting
to see this vision come together with the final phase of mixed-income
housing and the wonderful amenities for the whole community,” said Karen
Allen Bowie, Chair, Lena Park Community Development Corporation (CDC).
Of the 80 units under construction, 36 units
will be restricted at either 80% or 100% of AMI, with an additional 27
units restricted at 120% of AMI. Of the units, 17 will be unrestricted,
market-rate units. This project represents the final phase of the
redevelopment of the former Boston State Hospital site that Lena New Boston
has led, and to which the City of Boston has contributed significant
subsidy support. The overall project includes 20 buildings and three
private streets.
“The Preserve at Olmsted Green will bring 80
new homes for sale and culminates the decades-long redevelopment of the
former state hospital property into more than 357 rental homes and 140
homes for purchase for Mattapan residents,” said MassHousing
Executive Director Chrystal Kornegay. “The result of this long-standing
collaboration between the greater Mattapan community, the development team,
and the many federal, state, city, and private partners, has provided
housing affordability and economic opportunity to the many individuals and
families who have put down roots and prospered at Olmsted Green.”
The Preserve at Olmsted Green is part of the
City of Boston's efforts to increase affordable homeownership opportunities
in the city. Earlier this week, Mayor Wu celebrated the
opening of the Loop at
Mattapan Station, a new transit-oriented 135-unit affordable housing
community. Through programs like ONE+Boston and the Neighborhood Homes
Initiative, the City is committed to creating more pathways for Boston
residents to own homes and build generational wealth. The affordable
homeownership opportunities at the Preserve will be supported with down
payment assistance.
“Boston State has been a completely unique
project for the state in its size, scale, and uses – we should all feel
tremendous pride in what has been accomplished,” said Carol
Gladstone, Commissioner, Division of Capital Asset Management and
Maintenance (DCAMM). “This was only possible because of the partnership
we have had with the CAC. Their commitment has been remarkable throughout.
I offer my personal thanks to each of the members, both past and current.”
The Preserve at Olmsted Green was made
possible in part by the Mayor’s Office of Housing, Neighborhood Housing
Trust funding, Inclusionary Development Policy funding, MassHousing’s
Commonwealth Builders Fund, and American Rescue Plan Act. The development
is being funded by First Citizens Bank (formerly Silicon Valley Bank) and
Eastern Bank, The Life Initiative, Blue Hub Capital, City and State funds,
and equity funding from New Boston Fund, Inc., and their syndicated OG
Revival LLC partnership.
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