By The Planning Office for Urban Affairs
The Planning Office for Urban Affairs at the Archdiocese of Boston has been working to increase much needed affordable housing by partnering with organizations to develop new units across Greater Boston.
Through a collaborative effort with St. Francis House, we hope to add much needed affordable housing units at YMCA/Constitution Inn location at 150 Third Avenue in the Charlestown Navy Yard. Our preliminary proposal, presented last year and vetted through an informal process, was met with some great concern and we agreed after 16 community meetings with over 200 individuals and dozens of responses to revisit our program plans at this location.
We are currently in the process of finalizing those plans. The proposal for the site will have fewer units; a focus on workforce housing affordability and supportive housing for those on the Veterans Administration list in need of housing and women eligible through the City of Boston Coordinated Entry System.
Our team is updating the project website to reflect the new housing plans and will formally notify the city of our intentions in the coming week. As we move forward, we will engage with our community as part of the formal process with the Boston Planning and Development Agency through their Article 80 review.
Our conversations made clear that we share the same values – all people deserve the dignity of safe, quality housing and community. We feel that our new plans reflect the tremendous respect we have for our neighbors, our shared values and our collective efforts to address the increasing need for new housing options for all people while considering the real concerns of our community.
Thank you to our many neighbors, elected officials and community partners who offered thoughtful comments and important feedback to our initial plans – We believe the housing program that we will offer at this site is a better fit for our community.
The Planning Office for Urban Affairs is one of the developers for the YMCA/Constitution Inn.