The Asset Management Board did not take a vote on the Shattuck Hospital campus supportive housing project during its July 17 meeting, according to the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance.
The board received an update from the project team and asked for another update at its September meeting.
A deeply contentious public hearing about the proposal was held in May with conflicting priorities being expressed from the community. Residents argued at the hearing that the planning process for the land should be more inclusive of the community’s concerns, that the Shattuck campus should be returned to parkland, or that supportive housing was necessary.
The proposal is to lease up to two acres of the Shattuck Hospital campus to a not-yet-identified developer in order to build supportive housing. Supportive housing is permanent housing which combines affordability and supportive services for people that were previously homeless. It’s usually built by nonprofit developers and includes 24 hour staffing. The state is now going through the process to get approval to offer that land for lease for this purpose.
The ultimate green-light will come from the Asset Management Board (AMB), which hears proposals for long-term leases of state property. The board is made up of five people including the commissioner of Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM), the state inspector general, and three appointees of the Governor. There is a two-step process to gain approval from the AMB which includes a preliminary project proposal, a public hearing, and a final project proposal with the AMB. The preliminary project proposal and public hearing have now been completed.
The preliminary proposal for supportive housing at the campus was submitted almost a year ago, in July 2017, before the public knew of plans to move the Shattuck Hospital to the South End, which were revealed earlier this year.
The Pavilion will be renovated before the Shattuck Hospital beds are moved over, which should be by 2021. In the meantime, the state will begin a 12-month planning process for the future of the Shattuck campus, which started in July.