Mayor Wu Aims To Build 3,000 New Public Housing Units, Boston’s First In Decades

Mayor Michelle Wu pledged to create thousands of public housing units in Boston within the next decade, one of a series of new housing initiatives she introduced at her State of the City address Tuesday evening. 

The city plans to identify locations to develop 3,000 new public housing units, the first net new public housing built in Boston in more than 40 years, and the federal government plans to provide more than $100M per year to maintain them, according to a press release Wu's administration sent along with the address. 

"From Chinatown to West Roxbury, public housing makes it possible for so many of our seniors, and veterans, and residents with disabilities to stay in our city, and for so many of our young people to grow up here — including two of our newest city councilors," Wu said during the address, held at the new MGM Music Hall in the Fenway area. 

Wu told reporters after the speech that the city plans to identify these locations by September, but some properties are already underway, like the West End library redevelopment, which includes 20 public housing units that will be created through the Boston Housing Authority.

"We are looking at many different parcels and other opportunities with property owners to get the plan set," Wu told reporters. "Once we fund construction, the HUD [U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development] and the federal government will help maintain the units."

The city is also working on public housing redevelopments like WinnCos. $2B transformation of the Mary Ellen McCormack complex in South Boston. The project is planned to replace the 1,016 public housing units on the site and build over 2,000 additional mixed-income apartments. 

Construction of new, locally financed and owned public housing has been a rarity across the country for years, but local leaders in places like Washington, D.C., Rhode Island and Colorado have moved forward with new initiatives to use the public housing model to address the worsening housing shortage. 

Wu also announced more efforts to preserve affordable housing through a new fund that would build on the work the city did last year that preserved 114 units in East Boston. The fund aims to preserve 400 units citywide.

The city is also pushing for the creation of more accessory dwelling units. Wu said she is looking to change zoning to allow ADUs to be built as-of-right across the city, and the city plans to lower the cost of ADU development through pre-approved designs and financial resources that will help fund their construction.

"Our city has an extreme shortage of homes, and this action will help ensure the City has all the tools at its disposal necessary to tackle this crisis," Jesse Kanson-Benanav, executive director of pro-housing organization Abundant Housing Massachusetts, said in a statement. "ADUs are a gentle way to add more homes to our neighborhoods, while ensuring that families stay together by providing housing for grandparents, recent graduates, or loved ones with disabilities."

The mayor also announced a push for more green initiatives, including a proposal for zero net carbon zoning and a partnership with National Grid to provide a geothermal system that will provide clean energy to 346 units at the Franklin Field public housing property in Dorchester.

The city is also rolling out planning events for its Squares + Streets initiative, a new planning and rezoning effort aimed at allowing denser housing and mixed-use developments by right. And in July, Boston Planning & Development Agency staff are scheduled to transition to the city as part of Wu's restructuring of Boston planning functions, according to the release. 

"Planning for a more affordable, equitable and resilient future will help us weather the challenges that cities everywhere are facing: emptier downtowns, unpredictable commutes and housing prices that are squeezing families out," Wu said.

One issue Wu didn't bring up during her speech was a tax incentive program that she had been "strongly considering" in September, the Boston Business Journal reported. Wu told reporters at the event that the city isn't moving forward with the tax breaks because the level of resources required to make projects move forward is "simply not something that the city could afford, that scale, in this moment."

Real estate leaders had been hoping for an announcement on the tax breaks that they felt could spur more housing development in the city. Although the public housing development and ADU efforts are notable, NAIOP Massachusetts CEO Tamara Small said it might not be enough.

"Given the current market challenges and following the Mayor's announcement at the Greater Boston Chamber's event in September, the development community was hopeful that some incentives to ensure permitted housing units could be built would be announced last night," Small said in a statement. "While we were disappointed to hear that incentives will not be advanced at this time and that zero net carbon zoning is being explored, NAIOP will continue to advocate for strategies that remove barriers to creating much needed affordable and market-rate housing in the City and beyond."