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Developers pitch housing complexes to connect Roxbury, South End
The development would transform city-owned parking lots on Harrison Avenue near Boston Medical Center into an affordable housing complex.
Five city-owned parking lots in Roxbury will soon be home to hundreds of affordable homes and rental units.
Two developers pitched large, affordable complexes on the Boston Water Sewer Commission Parking Lots, a parcel that bridges Lower Roxbury and the South End. It’s on the corner of Melnea Cass Boulevard and Harrison Avenue, with Reed Street running through the lots.
The development came out of Mayor Michelle Wu’s audit of all city-owned land. In 2022, the city found a number of underutilized or vacant lots that have a high potential for community use. Other identified properties include the police station in East Boston, a parking lot in the North End, and another lot in Chinatown.
“Reed Square”
Community members heard from both developers during a public meeting last week. Beacon Communities, Madison Park Development Corporation, and JGE Development jointly presented their bid with 72 affordable homes for ownership and 311 rental units in five buildings. There would also be senior-designated housing.
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Beacon’s “Reed Square” would have equal neighborhood service spaces — like a community center — and commercial and retail space along Harrison Avenue. JGE President Jonathan Garland said Reed Square will match its neighborhood, with green space, residential stoops and an art walk.
“Affordable housing and pathways to generational wealth through homeownership is exactly the kind of work our team has been dedicated to for decades, for more than 100 years, and we’ve done it successfully right here in Roxbury,” Garland said.
“BWSC Parking Lots Disposition”
Related Beal with DREAM Development presented a proposal with 79 homes, 94 affordable rentals for seniors, and 229 rental units. They are planning about 20 more units than Beacon’s Reed Square.
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Unlike Reed Square, Related Beal’s proposal turns one of the five parking lots into just green space. Four five- or six-story buildings would surround the central green.
“We have committed to Roxbury, we’re local, we’re from Roxbury, and we’re gonna have an exceptional community program that starts with this amazing green space,” said John Barros, an investor and partner with DREAM.
Both teams envision Reed Street as a sheltered, neighborly thoroughfare. Both also presented a phased approach, where the affordable homes to own would be built first. Construction would begin in 2025, and new homeowners would move in by 2026. The rest of the rental units would be constructed after.
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