Local News

Fort Point building under consideration as next overflow shelter site

As the number of families in need of emergency shelter continues to grow, officials are exploring the possibility of using a building belonging to the Unitarian Universalist Association as an overflow site.

The exterior of 24 Farnsworth St. in Boston. Jonathan Wiggs/Boston Globe

February 9, 2024

3 minutes to read

Officials are looking into a property in the Fort Point neighborhood of Boston to become the next overflow shelter site for migrants and other residents who are on the waitlist for the state’s emergency shelter system.

The property in question is 24 Farnsworth St., a 92,000-square-foot building owned by the Unitarian Universalist Association. The UUA lists that address as its headquarters on its website. A spokesperson for the UUA confirmed Friday that this is a possibility, but that no final decisions have been made.

“Conversations are underway regarding a short-term use of the building that is in the public’s best interest and are in accordance with our values and principles as a faith tradition. We have not yet finalized those plans, but we will provide information as soon as they are,” Public Relations Director Suzanne Morse said in a statement.

Amid an influx of migrants and an ongoing housing crisis, the state’s emergency shelter system has been overburdened for months. Gov. Maura Healey declared a state of emergency regarding the situation last year and implemented a 7,500-family cap last November. Families are being placed on a waitlist and offered beds at overflow, or “safety-net,” sites throughout the state.

Last week, a large overflow shelter site opened at the Melnea A. Cass Recreational Complex in Roxbury. It will serve in that capacity until May 31, accommodating as many as 100 families, or about 400 individuals.

There are currently 727 families on the waitlist, and 95 families staying at the Cass complex, a spokesperson for the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities said Friday.

Some locals were taken aback at the sudden announcement of the conversion of the Cass complex into a shelter site, expressing concerns in a listening session over the number of programs that will have to be temporarily relocated and other neighborhood impacts. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu acknowledged that “pain” in a radio interview, but said that the city is determined to step up to meet the needs of unsheltered families. The Cass complex is operated by the state, and Wu indicated that the final decision to use it came from Healey’s administration.

City Councilor At-Large Erin Murphy confirmed Friday that the UUA building in Fort Point was being considered as a shelter site.

On Wednesday, an email was sent from the Fort Point Neighborhood Association to the mayor’s office with questions about how a conversion like this would take place, Murphy said. The FPNA did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.

Murphy said she found out it was a possibility Wednesday, and was not surprised.

“When the rec. center in Roxbury was chosen, I knew it would go to capacity quickly, and it didn’t take long. So, the overflow will continue, I believe,” she said.

City and state officials are actively exploring potential overflow shelter sites throughout Boston, including many empty office buildings, Murphy said.

Neighborhood groups in Fort Point are hoping to set up a public meeting with officials to learn more, but one has not been planned yet. Murphy said that she advocated for Roxbury residents to be part of the conversation after the conversion of the Cass complex was announced and will do the same now.

“If this is needed, it’s a fine balance, making sure we’re meeting the needs of these migrant families while at the same time not interfering or taking away from the needs and resources of any city residents,” she said.

Murphy has heard overwhelmingly from residents in Roxbury and elsewhere that they want to help families in need, but value more transparency and information from officials about the process.

State officials have said that the Cass complex will stop serving as a shelter in time for the pool to open there in the busy summer months. They have also said that the state will support improvements to the complex and help bolster staffing there.

News of the Cass complex being used as a shelter broke soon after reports of dozens of migrants being forced to sleep on the floor at Logan Airport. Those migrants were later moved to the Cass complex.

Neither Wu’s office nor Healey’s office immediately responded to requests for information Friday.

A spokesperson for Healey’s office told The Boston Globe Thursday that no new overflow sites had been finalized and ruled out the Comfort Inn on Morrissey Boulevard in Dorchester, which had reportedly been mentioned as a possible shelter site. The spokesperson estimated that approximately half of the people waiting to get into the emergency shelter system are newly-arrived migrants, while the other half are long-term Massachusetts residents.