Both the Coppersmith Village and Paris Village projects in East Boston will receive money as part of a citywide initiative to create
or preserve 1,194 affordable housing units.
Two East Boston projects down will share in $39 million in federal and city funds to create more affordable housing opportunities in the neighborhood.
Both the Coppersmith Village and Paris Village projects will receive money as part of a citywide initiative to create or preserve 1,194 affordable housing units. The funding is possible through $27 million in federal and local resources through the Department of Neighborhood Development (DND) and $11.7 million in linkage funds through Boston’s Neighborhood Housing Trust.
“It is imperative that we continue to support affordable housing in our neighborhoods, and this funding will help many of our families in need of safe housing stay in their homes,” said Mayor Martin Walsh. “By investing in housing, we are supporting economic development and creating jobs that will revitalize Boston’s neighborhoods for future generations.”
The Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) approved East Boston’s Neighborhood of Affordable Housing’s (NOAH) plans to convert and old industrial wasteland along the community’s waterfront into a mixed use development.
The $27 million Coppersmith Village development that was once the site of an ironworks company is on the block bounded by Border Street, Decatur Street, Liverpool Street, and Coppersmith Way. The block will be will be transformed into a mixed-use development of 56 rental apartments, 15 townhouses and 3,000 sq. ft. of retail space on the ground floor on the corner of Border and Decatur Streets that will house a restaurant.
The apartment building will be located on Border Street with the townhouses planned for Liverpool that ties into the typical triple-decker of Eastie. . Coppersmith Way will be opened up and serve as entrance for parking for the apartment building and townhouses.
NOAH Executive Director Phil Giffee said location provides a strong basis for a spunky new urban neighborhood in the Maverick/Central Square triangle in East Boston. This transit oriented development is close to the new $35M Maverick subway station and the new East Boston Health Center in Maverick Square.
The housing at Coppersmith Village approved by the BRA will be a mix of affordable and market rate units, both rental and ownership. Of the 56 apartments, 34 will be available to households at 60% average medium income (AMI) and below; of the 15 townhouses, three will be sold to households at 80 percent AMI or below. Of the rentals, the remaining 22 units, or 39 percent, will be market rate; of the townhouses, 12 homes, or 80 percent, will be market rate.
Giffee added that NOAH’s vision is to create a modest ownership and rental mix that meshes well with the existing urban fabric and accommodates a diverse range of neighborhood needs. We want to bring light to a very bleak street that will be transformed with the new development planned for the area.
The affordable housing units is more than the 13% requirement of the city’s inclusionary development policy.
The Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) also approved the East Boston Community Development Corporation’s (CDC) project to construct 32 units of affordable housing at the former Salesian Boys and Girls Club building on Paris Street.
The $11.5 million project, dubbed Paris Village, will be a four-story project containing 32 units of housing, all of which are planned as affordable. The building, located four blocks away from the MBTA’s Airport Station, will house a combination of 21 two-bedroom units and 11 three-bedroom units.
The developer was able to surpass the city’s affordable housing standards by securing funding from the state to support the project. Construction is expected to begin later this year.