BOSTON – Construction has commenced on 60 new, mixed-income apartment homes at Bartlett Station in Roxbury, which will conclude the first phase of the five-phase redevelopment of the former MBTA Bartlett Bus Yard in Nubian Square.
The 60 new apartments currently being constructed at Bartlett Station Building A will join a 60-unit, mixed-income rental apartment building and a 16-unit condominium building that were completed on the site in August 2019.
The non-profit Nuestra Comunidad Development Corporation and Windale Developers, Inc. are partnering to redevelop the formerly vacant, eight-acre brownfield site into approximately 380 new homes for working families, including 166 homes for purchase, 214 apartments and 30,000 square feet of commercial space. The transformation of the former bus yard will occur over five phases. The development project is anticipated to generate approximately 100 retail jobs and 900 construction jobs, with 60 percent of the jobs going to workers of color.
“Bartlett Station is a major component of the revitalization of the Nubian Square area, and this transaction involved a unique partnership with Boston Medical Center that will result in the BMC providing important supportive services for some of the residents with disabilities,” said MassHousing Executive Director Chrystal Kornegay. “This a transformative endeavor for Roxbury that will bring new housing and economic opportunities to the neighborhood and we are pleased to be part of the development and financing team.”
“I am thrilled to see the Bartlett Station project move forward to the next phase of construction, which will create 60 new homes that are affordable to residents at a range of incomes,” said Mayor Kim Janey. “This project is a prime example of the good we can do for the residents of Boston when we work together as partners to develop new affordable homes and create jobs, and I want to thank every person who helped make this important milestone possible.”
“It’s exciting to see the community’s vision come to life with this newest building at Bartlett Station. This building delivers on that vision for affordable and middle-income apartments, jobs for workers of color, MBE business opportunities and a housing set-aside for artists,” said Nuestra Comunidad Development Corporation Executive Director David Price.
The new affordable and workforce housing currently being constructed at Bartlett Station’s Building A is being delivered through a broad array of financing sources including, MassHousing, the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), the City of Boston, Boston Medical Center, and tax credit equity from an allocation of federal and state Low Income Housing Tax Credits.
Of the 60 new apartment homes at Building A, 16 will be restricted to households earning up to 30 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI), of which eight units will be supported by the federal Section 811 program for disabled individuals, and eight units will be supported by federal Section 8 housing assistance subsidy.
Twelve units will affordable be to households earning up to 50 percent of AMI, with four of those units supported through the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program. Twenty-three units will be affordable to households earning up to 60 percent of AMI and nine units will be workforce housing units for households earning up to 80 percent of AMI. The Area Median Income for Boston is $119,000 for a household of four.
MassHousing provided a total of approximately $13.2 million in affordable housing financing for Building A, including $10.1 million in permanent financing, $2.2 million in tax-exempt bridge financing, and $900,000 from the Agency’s Workforce Housing Initiative.
Other financing sources included a total of $14.7 million in state and federal tax credit equity, and $3.5 million in direct support from DHCD. The project is also receiving $1.5 million from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which MassHousing manages on behalf of DHCD.
The City of Boston contributed $2.2 million through its Inclusionary Development Policy and Neighborhood Housing Trust programs and $1.5 million in federal HOME funding.
Boston Medical Center provided $600,000 in financing, which was matched by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for a total of $1.2 million. The funds are being administered by the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC) and the BMC will be providing supportive services to the residents in the eight Section 811 units.
Citizens Bank will provide construction financing and the tax credit investor is RBC Community Investments.
Building A will contain 12 one-bedroom apartments, 34 two-bedroom apartments and 14 three-bedroom apartments. The new building will also feature approximately 10,000 square feet of retail and community space.
The general contractor is NEI General Contracting. The architect is Davis Square Architects, and the management agent will be WinnCompanies. Construction is expected to be completed in November 2022.
