BH redevelopment set for aid after City Council authorizes $110 million for Housing Accelerator Fund
By Michael Coughlin Jr.
Last week, the City Council authorized the appropriation of $110 million for the recently announced Housing Accelerator Fund, which will fund the construction of the next building in the Bunker Hill public housing redevelopment project.
A November release on the city’s website outlines Mayor Michelle Wu’s announcement of the Housing Accelerator Fund, which is “intended to kickstart the production of housing by closing financing gaps for projects that have already been approved but have been unable to start construction.”
During a City Council hearing on the matter last week, the city’s Chief Financial Officer Ashley Groffenberger indicated that the $110 million appropriation is coming from the city’s “unrestricted available fund balance.”
It should also be noted that the aforementioned release indicates that the state’s Housing Momentum Fund will match the city’s investment.
Further, during the aforementioned City Council hearing, it was explained that his fund would not only help with the Bunker Hill redevelopment but also contribute to the creation of rental housing and a homeownership pilot.
The Bunker Hill public housing development, which Boston Housing Authority (BHA) Administrator Kenzie Bok called the largest public housing development in New England at last week’s hearing, is amid a redevelopment.
This redevelopment, which involves a public-private partnership between Joseph J. Corcoran Company, Leggat McCall, the BHA, and the Charlestown Resident Alliance (CRA), will replace 1,100 public housing units with 2,699 public, income-restricted, and market-rate rental units.
“We’re super proud of how that community has kept low-income people anchored in Charlestown for truly many generations now, but unfortunately, it’s been in the same buildings,” said Bok, who indicated they were built in 1941.
“There’s never been a really significant investment in these buildings, and frankly, they really sort of have experienced the toll of what federal disinvestment from public housing looks like first-hand,” she said.
The first all-affordable building, Building M, began construction in June 2023, and residents began moving in last week. This Housing Accelerator Fund will help construct the first mixed-income building, Building F.
“This accelerator fund is really a God send because what it will do is it will allow us to use a public financing solution to replace some of the private equity that had originally been what we were relying on to move the project forward,” said Bok.
After Bok highlighted the benefits of this fund for the Bunker Hill redevelopment, members of the CRA, the Bunker Hill development’s tenant organization, gave a glimpse of what this move meant for the site’s residents.
Karla Wert, CRA’s Vice President, said, “We just really, really need this help,” indicating that you cannot put any more bandaids on the development. “We just can’t live in these places anymore.”
CRA’s President, Nancy Martinez, addressed the deteriorating conditions at the development and said, “We really need this, and I want to live a little bit better than I live right now.”
Tina Goodnow, CRA’s Executive Director, highlighted safety concerns and that a majority of residents at the site are minorities, many are disabled and non-English speakers, and all are low-income.
“Each of our Bunker Hill families knows personally what it means to be looked down on and excluded. No one has to tell us what discrimination and economic exclusion looks like and feels like,” she said.
“We know we can’t keep on living in the terrible conditions of these buildings.”
Finally, CRA Board Member Phil Wright described this situation as life and death. He explained that his apartment has been flooded multiple times and has a cockroach problem.
“The conditions of these buildings is beyond deplorable. Words do not justify how bad they are and how desperately we need this,” he said.
As last week’s hearing continued, various City Councilors commented and had questions about the fund.
City Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata called the conditions at the Bunker Hill site deplorable and said, “Residents deserve more than what they’re living in right now.”
“Every day, week, month, year that passes by without any effort to address these issues or provide progress for this project, I think, to me, is an active choice to neglect these incredible people and the thousands of residents that live in Charlestown and to neglect their basic human right to dignified healthy housing.”
Regarding some questions about the Bunker Hill redevelopment aspect of the fund, City Councilor Ed Flynn asked how much of the $110 million would be for that project.
Bok said she did not have an exact amount and estimated it would be “well north of $10 million, like double digits.”
Concerning why Bok could not give an exact amount, she said, “We only want to invest the public dollar that we have to. So we have to compare it to the private dollars that are available so that it’s the minimum amount that we need to make the project happen.”
Questions concerning returning residents and utilities were also answered. Bok indicated that families currently living at the property will be able to return and that individuals who do not currently pay for utilities will not have to after construction.
Finally, it should be noted that there was public testimony at last week’s hearing from those concerned about authorizing the funds.
For example, Diane Valle had concerns about transparency, community engagement, and more. Further, Valle called the Bunker Hill project an environmental, social, and economic injustice, saying it would take out 288 mature trees and that the process ignored community input, among other things.
Another Charlestown resident, Rosemary Macero, expressed frustration regarding the $110 million being referred to as “free cash,” saying the funding is taxpayer dollars. She also expressed concerns about the BHA’s ability to maintain its properties and asked several questions about the funding.
Ultimately, after more conversation and questions from City Councilors, the hearing ended. According to City Council meeting minutes, on January 15th, one day following the hearing, the $110 million appropriation was authorized with 10 yeas after a motion from City Councilor Julia Mejia to postpone a vote on the matter until a January 29th meeting failed.
To view a recording of the hearing concerning the Housing Accelerator Fund, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVFROQiFCy8.