Senior housing project nets City funds

An affordable senior housing project planned for Roxbury Crossing has been awarded $279,000, but still needs other funds before construction can begin.

The Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) board agreed to commit up to $279,386 in Housing Linkage funds for the development of the 40-unit Mission Hill Neighborhood Housing Services (MHNHS) Roxbury Crossing project.

Housing linkage funds are funds given to the city by large commercial developments to be used in support of housing projects.

“We’re very glad we got this, but we still have to go through a state funding round” before construction can start, MHNHS Senior Project Manager Pat Flaherty told the Gazette. “If all goes well, we’d be able to get into construction next year.”

State funding rounds are very competitive, Flaherty said. She added she expects that decision to be made in the Fall. Residents are expected to start moving in 14 to 15 months after the start of construction.

The five-story Roxbury Crossing Senior Building would be located on Parcel 29, behind AK’s Takeout on Tremont Street at Gurney Street and Gurney Street, a quirky intersection where both streets have the same name. It is a transit-oriented project that aims to keep its elderly residents self-sufficient. All of the 540-square-foot units will be universally adaptable—not originally wheelchair-accessible but easily made so—for residents who may age into those needs.

The project will include 39 affordable housing units. The project also will include a manager’s unit, 8 rear parking spaces, and a community room.

Parcel 25, another part of the Roxbury Crossing project, across the street from Parcel 29, has been under development by MHNHS since 2004.

The plans for Parcel 25 include eight to 12 new neighborhood-serving retail stores and restaurants as well as more affordable housing. It does not yet have a construction start date.

Parcels 25 and 29 have been vacant since the 1960s, when the federal government proposed to extend I-95 through the area and began buying up and demolishing houses before community organizers halted the expansion.

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