BOSTON - Boston Housing Authority residents and staff joined Beacon Communities and partners from the City of Boston and state housing agencies to celebrate a combined ribbon cutting and groundbreaking at Anne M. Lynch Homes at Old Colony in South Boston.
“Old Colony is a piece of Boston’s history, and it has come a long way in this past decade,” Boston Housing Authority Administration Kate Bennett said. “For generations Old Colony has been a home for some of the most vulnerable families in this City, and thanks to a decade of dedicated effort, it always will be.”
The ribbon cutting celebrated the completion of Phase Three of the redevelopment of the Old Colony public housing community. Phase Three includes 250 newly built deeply affordable apartment units that replace an equal number of original public housing units for low-income families plus and new creation of 55 affordable apartments for low-income seniors. The senior building was built to Passive House design standards advancing the goals of creating highly energy efficient buildings in the City. Phase Three furthers the Old Colony Master Plan, conceived over a decade ago by residents and neighbors to knit Old Colony back into the surrounding South Boston community.
“Ten years ago, Old Colony was a struggling BHA public housing community approaching the end of its useful life,” BHA Administrator Kate Bennett said. “Today, we can celebrate, knowing that this community’s best days are ahead. This project has already changed hundreds of residents’ lives, for the better, and there’s more new housing to come.”
The event was also a groundbreaking for the final phases of redevelopment, which includes demolition of the final original public housing buildings, and the new construction in their place of 208 replacement apartments plus approximately 95 additional affordable units for individuals, families, and seniors. This final phase will complete the transformation of Old Colony into a thriving community with modern, beautiful, sustainable housing based on the principles of Healthy Homes and Green Building. The recently completed 55-unit senior building has achieved a “passive house” standard of remarkably low energy consumption – the new buildings will also be designed to Passive House standards.
“MassHousing is thrilled to partner again with Beacon Communities and the Boston Housing Authority to advance the transformation of the Anne M. Lynch Homes at Old Colony,” said MassHousing Executive Director Chrystal Kornegay. “As one of the nation’s first federal public housing communities, Old Colony promised a Boston where residents of all means had a place to live affordably and thrive. It is exciting to be breaking ground on the final phase of this redevelopment, which will ensure that Old Colony remains welcoming, and able to serve the housing needs of households with a range of incomes for many years ahead.”
Darcy Jameson, Vice President at Beacon Communities, noted, “We have been on this wonderful journey with the Boston Housing Authority and Old Colony residents for over a decade. We are thrilled to be welcoming residents back to Phase Three and starting the final phase of redevelopment. This journey has been possible with the steadfast support from the City, State agencies, private investors, and, most importantly, support from the South Boston and Old Colony community.”
Beyond the physical improvements of the new buildings and open space, residents can access health and educational opportunities at the Tierney Learning Center, as well as targeted social services and partnerships with providers such as the Boys and Girls Club and Head Start.
Old Colony, which was one of the nation’s first federal public housing developments when it was built in the 1940s, was renamed halfway through its redevelopment in 2016 in honor of Anne M. Lynch, a longtime active Old Colony resident and mother to Congressman Stephen Lynch.
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About Beacon Communities LLC
Beacon Communities LLC is a privately owned real estate firm that develops, acquires, invests in, and manages a wide range of multi-family housing. Their portfolio includes affordable housing, market rate housing and mixed income-housing. Their developments range from new construction, to historic adaptive reuse, to the renovation of existing housing. They take on challenging developments and make them succeed. Their driving passion is to create well-designed, healthy homes that improve the quality of life of their residents and enhance the neighborhoods in which they are located. For more information about Beacon Communities LLC please visit www.beaconcommunitiesllc.com.
About the Boston Housing Authority
Boston Housing Authority provides quality affordable housing for low-income families and individuals through the public housing and Section 8 rental assistance programs. We foster vital communities that are essential to our city's economic diversity and way of life. As the largest housing provider in Boston, we bring stability, opportunity, and peace of mind not only to the thousands of low-income families we support, but to the city as a whole.