Local News

South Boston’s Marian Manor redevelopment to bring 204 apartments with 160+ parking spaces

Plans call for a “full gut renovation” of the former nursing home, including the construction of a new 164-spot parking garage.

The former Marian Manor nursing home in South Boston closed in 2024, and will be the site of a new 204-unit apartment complex with 160+ parking spaces. David L Ryan/Globe Staff

By Annie Jonas

May 1, 2026 | 3:15 PM

1 minute to read

The former Marian Manor nursing home in South Boston is set to be transformed into a 204-unit rental apartment complex, offering a potential boost to a neighborhood and a city grappling with a deepening housing crisis.

Marian Manor, located at 130 Dorchester St., operated for seven decades from 1954 until 2024, when it closed down. The site is roughly 87,000 square feet of land and includes seven buildings that formerly functioned as a single institutional campus, some previously associated with Carney Hospital operations.

Developer Giuseppe “Joey” Arcari, of Monarc Development, is behind the 220,000-square-foot project. A letter of intent – the first step in the city’s Large Project Review process – was filed with the Boston Planning Department last week.

Arcari plans to keep the existing buildings, but put them through a “full gut renovation.” Two smaller structures on the Old Harbor Street side of the property are slated for removal to make way for a new parking garage accommodating approximately 164 off-street spaces. At least 18 percent of units — between 30 and 40 apartments — would be set aside as affordable housing.

Arcari acknowledged the emotional weight of redeveloping a site so intertwined with the neighborhood’s history and said he intends to honor it. The project will be called “The Manor,” and he is planning a memorial on the property to honor the residents who lived there.

“It’s really been a huge, huge piece of the South Boston community,” he told Boston.com in an interview. “It’s going to be very important to keep that spirit alive.”

With a letter of intent now filed with the Boston Planning Department, the next step is community outreach ahead of a formal project notification in late June.

The project comes as Boston’s development pipeline has slowed dramatically. In 2023 and 2024, the city saw its slowest period for new housing development since 2011. Arcari said he sees the project as a step forward for a neighborhood and city in need.

“I think it’s a start in the right direction,” he said. “The demand is there. The volume just hasn’t been there over the last probably four to five years. I think this will be a great project in a great neighborhood.”