New development highlights the long road to actually living in affordable housing
Boston officials approved a tax break for an affordable apartment building in North Station Thursday.
Boston officials approved a tax break that will help a developer build an affordable apartment complex near North Station on Thursday, but as The Boston Globe points out, the size of the tax break is still unknown.
Ted Lubitz, head of affordable housing for developer Related Beal, told the Globe the tax deal “is key’’ for financing the project. Ideally, the property taxes’ would be set for 15 years to attract investors, he said.
The $230 million complex, located above Interstate 93 near TD Garden, would cap rents at 30 percent of the incomes of tenants qualified to live there.
But who is actually eligible to live there?
Half of the total 239 units would be reserved for middle-income residents that earn up to $78,800 for a two-person household, with the other half designated for low-income residents — two-person households that make below $55,150.
Applying for affordable housing isn’t too simple, however.
The Boston Redevelopment Authority delineates the process in this flowchart: Once affordable units are developed, the developer advertises them and residents apply through the development’s owner or designated agent. Then the city’s Office of Fair Housing and Equity conducts a lottery to sort applicants by preferences like “first-time buyer’’ or “Boston resident,’’ before having the developer review applicants’ eligibility in order of the corresponding lottery rankings.
The North Station complex would be particularly attractive to larger families because it’s offering 24 three-bedroom apartments – a rarity in new construction.
Story continues after gallery.
What the North End used to look like:
Mayor Walsh has been pushing for projects like this to meet his affordable housing goal of building a total of 6,500 new units of low-income housing for the workforce by the year 2030. In addition to the property tax breaks, Related Beal will seek state tax-exempt bonds and state and federal housing tax credits.
If the city meets Related Beal’s demands, will more developers be influenced to construct affordable housing complexes?
Only time will tell, but residents watching a horde of luxury apartments go up across the city would probably welcome a larger affordable market.
A spokesperson for Mayor Marty Walsh told the Globe that City Hall plans on wrapping up the tax agreement in the next few weeks.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com