On Wednesday, January 22nd, the City of Boston announced its commitment of funding to support the development of the Hill Memorial Baptist Church (HMBC) site and the Ashford Street Lodging House. These funds were made available through the Mayor’s Office of Housing and the Neighborhood Housing Trust.
The HMBC site, located at 279-283 North Harvard Street in Allston, will be transformed into “Allston Senior Housing at The Hill” creating a 49-unit, affordable, elderly housing development that will feature a connection between the new housing and the restored Hill Memorial Baptist Church. Brighton Allston Elderly Housing (BAEH), a neighborhood-based senior living developer, is advising ABCDC to ensure the elderly residents will have a comprehensive network of support and social services. This project will emphasize all electric systems, renewable energy, accessibility, historical preservation, healthy living spaces, and an overall improvement to quality of life.
The Ashford Street Lodging House, located at 40-42 Ashford Street, is a 12-unit affordable, supportive housing site. Originally opened to house individuals impacted by the AIDS crisis, ABCDC now provides individuals with disabilities and formerly homeless persons with safe, permanent, affordable housing. All the residents are low-income, earning at or below 30-80% of Area Median Income. This funding will support the Deep Energy Retrofit (DER) at the site and improvements will include a new roof, adding fresh air ventilation systems, all new electric heat pumps to provide heating and cooling, and additional insulation. This project is addressing the safety and well-being of current and future residents of these 12 units of affordable housing by making much-needed repairs and upgrades.
“We are honored to be a recipient of his year’s City of Boston’s affordable housing funding awards, which strengthens our mission to deliver inclusive and accessible housing solutions in Allston Brighton. ABCDC is proud to support Mayor Michelle Wu’s vision of creating more equitable sustainable housing for all,” said John Woods, Executive Director of ABCDC. “We deeply appreciate the support and dedication of our Mayor Michelle Wu, the Mayor’s Office of Housing, the Neighborhood Housing Trust, the Community Preservation Committee, the North Allston residents, Councilor Liz Breadon, and Harvard University for helping us create new sustainable inclusive housing in our City.”
Caitlin Robillard, Director of Real Estate Development at ABCDC, remarked on the City of Boston’s visionary leadership on climate. “We are so thankful for the decarbonization resources made available by Mayor Wu and the Mayor’s Office of Housing. This funding will allow Allston Brighton CDC to eliminate fossil fuels from an existing building and to create brand new, affordable units that are carbon free from the get-go.”
Thank you to the City of Boston for their commitment to preserving and improving affordable housing and stay tuned for more updates about these projects!
