Officials Launch Transformation of Boston’s Oldest Public Housing Site

Construction has begun on the long-awaited redevelopment of Boston’s oldest public housing property.

Developers from WinnCompanies, government officials, and residents of the Mary Ellen McCormack complex broke ground on the first phase of construction of the sweeping 3,300-unit mixed-income and mixed-use project.

“This is an ambitious and inspired undertaking that has been discussed in Boston for decades. Now, after eight years of intensive planning and permitting, we are starting work on creating a ‘community of opportunity’ that will serve as a national model for fostering long-term economic social and environmental success,” said WinnCompanies CEO Gilbert Winn. “Working households across the income spectrum will reap the benefits as we transform this 30-acre site, standing alongside our federal, state, and city supporters, our nonprofit allies, and our partners at the Boston Housing Authority (BHA) and the tenant-led task force.”

When completed in fall 2026, Building A will include 94 apartments for families currently living at the Mary Ellen McCormack. A resident task force is gaining an ownership stake in the apartments.

In addition to the $62 million apartment building, Building A features $8 million in public infrastructure improvements designed to strengthen climate resiliency and connect the community to surrounding South Boston neighborhoods. It will include a new Veterans Park with an accessible tot lot and splash pad, two-way bike lanes, reconfigured public streets and associated intersections with pedestrian enhancements, new street trees, planting areas, and pedestrian zones.

“This is going to be absolutely spectacular for our residents to be in healthy, clean, beautiful, state-of-the-art housing, with what people deserve to raise their families,” said mayor Michelle Wu. “Housing is the most intrinsic part of how we think about our lives because it’s not really about the buildings. It’s about the place where you feel safest and most yourself and at home with the people that you love. So, with every building that we’re building, with every unit we are adding to our count, that is another family, another generation, that this city, this commonwealth, and this country cares about and values what they are giving to the community.”

Building A will be constructed to meet passive house certification standards. The project will feature the first underground geothermal heating and cooling system installed by WinnCompanies and BHA.

Financing for the development includes a construction loan from Bank of America; federal low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) and energy tax credit equity from Bank of America, a tax-exempt bridge loan and tax-exempt first mortgage loan from MassHousing; a subordinate loan from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund maintained by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities; a subordinate loan from BHA; and state LIHTC equity from Bank of America with a loan from BlueHub Capital. The commonwealth and the city of Boston have also committed significant funding toward future buildings and infrastructure in the redevelopment.

Once the first building is completed, officials will secure financing for and begin construction on Building B, which will offer 300 mixed-income apartments, and Building C, which will offer 196 mixed-income apartments, with 172 units reserved for seniors who are 62 or older with on-site resident services and programming.

Built during the Great Depression and opened in 1938, the Mary Ellen McCormack is one of the oldest public housing developments in the United States, consisting of 1,016 deeply subsidized apartments across 35 buildings.

The redevelopment will replace all the public housing units on site. Existing buildings will be demolished in phases in a relocation strategy choreographed to maximize existing households moving directly into new apartments. The tenant-paid portion of the rent will not change. WinnCompanies will pay for basic utilities for affordable households. BHA will retain ownership of the land to preserve permanent affordability for low-income families, while management, ownership, and maintenance of the buildings will be provided by WinnCompanies.