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Boston to spend $50 million on Mildred Hailey rehab

By adamg on Thu, 01/20/2022 - 12:50pm

Mayor Wu announced today the money will go to "address plumbing, ventilation, windows, and kitchen and bathroom improvements" in 526 apartments at the Mildred Hailey Apartments in Jamaica Plain.

The money is separate from another project by a group of non-profit developers to raze several buildings at the sprawling complex in Jackson Square and replace their current 253 Section 8 apartments with all new units, plus add additional new apartments both at Mildred Hailey and nearby.

Neighborhoods: 
Jamaica Plain
Free tagging: 
Mildred Hailey Apartments
Jackson Square


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Comments

By DigitalSciGuy on Thu, 01/20/2022 - 3:09pm.

Thanks for clarifying on that second point, Adam. A few neighbors at Mildred Hailey have voiced concerns about the fact that they fall into a gap between the first phase of the Mildred Hailey redevelopment and full completion, where they'll have to remain in units that have been in decay for years due to underinvestment in the BHA. Of the 253 units being replaced in that project, 162 units aren't slated for replacement until later phases pending future grant funding to the nonprofit housing developer coalition and right now the construction.

Since this is planned to be 4 phases of redevelopment that may take upwards of 10 years to complete, I worry that these folks weren't included in some portion of that $50 mil unless this has been addressed elsewhere that I haven't yet heard about.

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By jl326 on Thu, 01/20/2022 - 3:57pm.

But with 526 units and some of the work be infrastructure-related, ~$95K/unit sounds... about reasonable?

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By DPM on Thu, 01/20/2022 - 4:33pm.

Sounds maybe even a bit low.

Labor aint cheap.

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By anon on Thu, 01/20/2022 - 5:47pm.

It materials. A sheet of plywood is about $50 currently.

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By ElizaLeila on Thu, 01/20/2022 - 6:33pm.

Contractors don't pay the same price as you and I.

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By anon on Thu, 01/20/2022 - 7:54pm.

wholesale, retail, Holiday Inn.

If you keep talking nonsense, I’ll just take your friend.

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By anon on Thu, 01/20/2022 - 8:42pm.

Their costs aren’t up?

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By ElizaLeila on Fri, 01/21/2022 - 9:07am.

Just not as high as they are when buying retail.

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By anon on Fri, 01/21/2022 - 8:32am.

Prices have surged - even for contractors.

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By ElizaLeila on Mon, 01/24/2022 - 4:09pm.

not worth the argument with anons.

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By anon on Fri, 01/21/2022 - 4:01pm.

~$95K/unit sounds... about reasonable?

But it won't be $95K per unit after everyone gets their cut.

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By anon on Thu, 01/20/2022 - 8:16pm.

Please make transparent (unless I missed it because I'm not a lawyer for BHA) if the other "across town" housing "offered" to existing residents displaced mean they don't have to wait and can just move into those "across town" units immediately while their units are torn down?

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By eherot on Fri, 01/21/2022 - 9:46am.

There aren’t very many spare units in the portfolio so the ability to shuffle people around like this is extremely limited and dependent on new on-site units coming online, so there are only so many people that can be displaced at once.

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By bibliotequetress on Fri, 01/21/2022 - 2:20pm.

Are you asking about Phase 1? This is a different project from Phase 1.
The scope of the work for this project does not require people to be rehoused. Plumbing, ventilation, window replacement, and basic bath & kitchen improvements can largely occur with the residents in situ.

If you are asking about Phase 1, it was deliberately planned to move slowly & in phases, building by building through the seven buildings being rebuilt, in part to mitigate the need to find housing for so many people at once.

From the Phase 1 FAQ:

Phase One will take a decade or more to complete, and most families will not be asked to relocate until many years from now. Redevelopment will start at a corner of the site with few existing apartment units, which will allow for limited initial demolition followed by new construction of a proportionally greater number of new replacement apartment. This is a key strategy in our aim to have families move only one time to the greatest extent possible from their current apartments into newly built apartments. Construction of the first buildings will begin in 2022 or 2023, and construction will precede gradually with new buildings approximately every two years.

Where will I live?
Because the redevelopment involves demolition and new construction, every household in the redevelopment area will need to move at some point. BHA will ensure that all households are moved to apartments that meet all of their household needs in terms of size (number of bedrooms) and other attributes (for example, wheelchair accessibility or other features). To the greatest extent possible, families will only need to move once, from their current apartments into newly built apartments.

Current households will have a priority to stay in the Mildred C. Hailey community or—if temporary relocation is required—a Right to Return to a newly built apartment. The only exceptions would be instances of eviction (for serious lease violations) or if a family voluntarily opts for a permanent relocation to other BHA housing or to move out of BHA housing entirely.

https://haileyapartments.com/

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