City seeks to redevelop Mildred. C. Hailey Apartments into a mixed-income property

Boston Housing Authority (BHA), seeking to upgrade and sustain its affordable housing in the midst of federal budget cuts, has issued a request for proposals (RFP) inviting developers to submit proposals to rebuild existing affordable housing while building market-rate units at the Mildred C. Hailey Apartments, a housing development in Jackson Square.

“It’s imperative that we think outside the box to preserve our existing affordable housing as well as develop new housing to meet the future housing needs of all of our city’s residents,” said Mayor Martin Walsh, according to the press release. “I’m excited because this project has the potential to meet the housing needs of people from a broad spectrum of economic backgrounds.”

Mildred C. Hailey Apartments includes 804 units of federally subsidized public housing in 29 buildings on approximately 24 acres of land. BHA is calling for proposals for the first of several phases of redevelopment, which consists of six buildings and contiguous land totaling about six acres. BHA would like the first phase to replace one-for-one each of the 232 units in those six buildings to leverage the market value of the property in order to avoid displacement of low-income residents, preserve affordability for extremely low-income households, and ensure long-term operational sustainability.

Phase One redevelopment is anticipated to include the transfer of the site via a 99-year ground lease to the selected developer.

“We look forward to receiving creative ideas that will preserve and protect our affordable housing resources for the future,” said BHA Administrator Bill McGonagle, according to the press release. “We are proceeding in this manner to ensure that our current residents of Hailey apartments and future residents of the city in need of affordable housing have this valuable resource to call home for generations to come.”

BHA has met with residents of the development and local elected officials before issuing the RFP. The agency has also requested ideas from the nonprofit and for-profit development community about how to preserve public housing units with decreased reliance on federal subsidy, which has been shrinking.

The selected developer will need to carry out a comprehensive design and resident engagement process to finalize the redevelopment program to secure funding for the project.

The RFP is available for free via email request to [email protected]. All proposals must be received by April 14 at 2 p.m. at the Boston Housing Authority, Procurement Dept. 6th Floor, 52 Chauncy St., Boston, MA, 02111.

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