This project, in Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood, has a storied history, and features:
• 32 units of affordable housing and ground floor commercial space in a mid-rise building; and
• three affordable separate-entry residential townhouses.
DHK began working with the Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation (CSNDC) in the early 1990’s to help the organization identify an appropriate site for a mixed-use development. Numerous sites were reviewed, and a planning effort around a few possible sites began in earnest in 2005.
Once the current site, at the corners of Washington, Harvard, Bowdoin, and Nottingham Streets, was identified as the desired location, DHK began to look at possible best uses of the site. The prominent location, in a neighborhood where affordable housing is greatly needed, is on a hillside site and posed many design challenges. Further, the uncertainty of funding, zoning issues, community concerns resulted in many starts and stops on the project.
CSNDC, the project developers, persisted with funding submissions – for both governmental and private funding and loans. DHK worked with CSNDC on various possible development schemes and designs. As affordable housing became the priority, we looked at options that could produce the most significant number of affordable housing units and provide commercial space dedicated to supporting local businesses. The slow funding approvals process, the need for multiple government agencies to approve the project and the design, and inflation all added to years – indeed decades of delays.
The final plan incorporated 35 units of low and moderate-income housing as well as approximately 3,900 square feet of commercial space. To make the project a reality took incredible commitment and persistence among many, many people, especially those at the Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation. In October of 2022 ground was finally broken on the project and the building opened in 2025.