(l-r) U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton; Bill Perry, chair, Brighton Marine; Boston Mayor Marty Walsh; Mass Housing Executive Director Chrystal Kornegay; Gilbert Winn, CEO WinnCompanies; Arthur Winn, founder WinnCompanies; Mass. Lt. Gov. Karen Polito; Thomas Lyons, board member Brighton Marine; Governor Charlie Baker; and Michael Dwyer, CEO Brighton Marine
Boston – Mass. Gov. Charlie Baker, Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh, and Congressman Seth Moulton recently joined the veteran community to break ground on a first-in-the-nation $46 million Boston development that will bring 102 units of housing and onsite supportive services to a variety of different veteran populations.
Owned by Brighton Marine, a veteran network community, and WinnCompanies, military housing managers, the Residences at Brighton Marine will be built on Brighton Marine’s campus along Commonwealth Ave., providing apartments at all income ranges in a transit-oriented location for qualifying veterans and their families who want, but cannot afford, to both live and work in Boston.
Cranshaw Construction of Newton is the general contractor. The Architectural Team of Chelsea is the architect.
There will be 11 studio units, 47 one-bedroom apartments, 33 two-bedroom apartments, and 11 three-bedroom apartments; 101 units will be contained in a new, seven-story building, and one unit will be developed through the adaptive reuse of a historic building that will also have ground-floor community space.
Construction at the 1.44-acre site is scheduled for completion by December 2019.
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Residences at Brighton Marine / rendering courtesy of The Architectural Team (TAT)
- The Residences at Brighton Marine represents a national model, offering permanent housing for an independent population of veterans. In fact, mixed income housing of any type has not been developed on this scale in Boston specifically for veterans since World War II. The development is the first-of-its-kind for other reasons as well:
- Available to a wide range of incomes: Eligible Income levels include extremely low, low, and middle-workforce incomes
- Number and type of units: Not only do the 102 units represent one of the largest private developments ever created for veterans, but the wide variety of apartment types, ranging from studios to three bedrooms, are a rarity in veteran housing
- Transit oriented development near a job center
- Unique Partners: This development is co-owned by a non-profit (Brighton Marine) and a for-profit (WinnCompanies), a partnership never done before in the veterans housing field
“As one of the largest managers of military housing in the United States,” said Gilbert Winn, Chief Executive Officer of WinnCompanies, “we were drawn to the Brighton Marine housing development as a unique opportunity to create premier quality housing for veterans with diverse incomes and family sizes at a location close to jobs, transportation, entertainment and services – a true veterans’ village.”
The Residences at Brighton Marine are being financed and built with substantial public support, including funds from MassHousing, the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development(DHCD), and the City of Boston’s Department of Neighborhood Development. MassHousing has committed a $9.4 million permanent loan, a $14 million bridge loan and $5 million from the Agency’s Workforce Housing Initiative. DHCD has made an allocation of federal and state Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, as well as providing approximately $3.6 million in direct support, and an additional $3.7 million is being provided through the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which MassHousing manages on behalf of DHCD. The City of Boston is providing approximately $4.1 million in financing.
Bank of America is providing a $31 million construction loan and is investing more than $24-million of private tax credit equity.
“Creating a veteran-centered community is a strategic milestone in Brighton Marine’s expanding mission to develop stand-alone, measurable programs that directly impact our heroes,” said Michael Dwyer, Chief Executive Officer of Brighton Marine. “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 care program; all on a public transit-connected campus.”
“We’re in the midst of the longest war in American history. It’s not a particularly popular war, mind you, but our troops go through a lot oversees. And for those who make it home, the least we can do is welcome them back into our communities,” said Congressman Moulton. “This is about building a community that is inclusive of all.”
