The Residences at Brighton Marine in Boston will provide 11 studio, 47 one-bedroom, 33 two-bedroom, and 11 three-bedroom units for veterans of various income levels. "This community will create a sense of place for each veteran and family member by incorporating other critical transitional services such as clinical, wellness, and behavioral health services all under the nation's top-rated military health program—all on a public transit-connected campus," said Michael Dwyer, CEO of Brighton Marine, which co-owns the development with WinnCompanies.
The Architectural Team The Residences at Brighton Marine in Boston will provide 11 studio, 47 one-bedroom, 33 two-bedroom, and 11 three-bedroom units for veterans of various income levels. "This community will create a sense of place for each veteran and family member by incorporating other critical transitional services such as clinical, wellness, and behavioral health services all under the nation's top-rated military health program—all on a public transit-connected campus," said Michael Dwyer, CEO of Brighton Marine, which co-owns the development with WinnCompanies.

Leading affordable housing developer WinnCompanies and Brighton Marine, a veteran network community, have teamed on a new development that will provide 102 units of mixed-income housing and on-site supportive services for veterans and their families in Boston.

The co-owners and their community partners celebrated the groundbreaking of the Residences at Brighton Marine in June.

The development, which is slated for completion by December 2019, will be adjacent to Brighton Marine’s campus and close to public transit and job centers. It will offer studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom units to meet the needs of qualifying veterans and their families with a range of incomes. Eleven units will be set aside for households earning 30% of the area median income (AMI), 59 units at 60% of the AMI, 10 units at 80% of the AMI, and the remaining 22 units at 120% of the AMI.

A new seven-story building will include 101 units. The remaining unit and community space will be developed through the adaptive reuse of one of the site’s historic buildings, which had to be relocated approximately 500 yards. WinnDevelopment teamed with Cranshaw Construction and Wolfe House & Building Movers to move the 350-ton, 77-year-old brick building that had once served as officers’ quarters. The campus was originally constructed in 1938 to accommodate the relocation of the U.S. Marine Hospital, which was located in Chelsea at the time.

“Brighton Marine is one of the city’s strongest allies in our work to make sure all veterans in the city of Boston have a place to call home, as well as access to health services and family support,” said Boston mayor Marty Walsh in a statement. “This groundbreaking marks the start of one of the biggest veterans housing developments of its kind in Boston since the end of World War II, and I am proud that we are taking another step forward in ensuring all of Boston veterans have what they need to lead full and healthy lives.”

The $46 million development is being financed with substantial public support from the commonwealth and the city. MassHousing has committed a $9.4 million permanent loan, a $14 million bridge loan, and $5 million through its Workforce Housing Initiative. Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) has allocated federal and state low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs) and is providing $3.6 million in direct support and $3.7 million through the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which MassHousing manages on behalf of DHCD. In addition, the city of Boston is contributing $4.1 million. Bank of America Merrill Lynch is providing a $31 million construction loan and investing more than $24 million in LIHTC equity.

Other partners include architect The Architectural Team is serving and Cranshaw as the general contractor.

The Residences at Brighton Marine also advances the commonwealth administration’s goal of creating up to 1,000 new workforce housing units for middle-income households through MassHousing’s Workforce Housing Initiative.