© 2003 The Boston Herald

THE BOSTON HERALD

Affordable waterfront?
By Scott Van Voorhis, Boston Herald Business Reporter

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

The Hub’s new development frontier on South Boston’s waterfront is in danger of becoming a luxury enclave as City Hall backs off earlier affordable housing pledges, critics say.

    In the latest example, the city’s zoning board signed off yesterday on a plan to convert a Fort Point building that had long been a haven for local artists into 87 high-end condos, critics say.

     That plan includes seven affordable units, or roughly 9 percent of the total and far below the 13 percent to 20 percent affordable-unit mix that City Hall has pledged for the area, contends Steve Hollinger, head of the Seaport Alliance for a Neighborhood Design.

     The number of affordable units in other projects planned for Fort Point and South Boston’s waterfront are now falling to the lower 5 percent to 9 percent range, Hollinger writes on the group’s Web site. “What’s being created right now is very high percentage of second-home and pied-a-terre luxury condos,” Hollinger said.

    But a top executive with the development venture that won approval yesterday to convert a Fort Point building at 316-322 Summmer Street into luxury condos had a different take.

    Instead of 11 one-bedroom apartments, the project will feature two three-bedroom units, three artist live-work units, one two-bedroom, and one studio, said Albert M. Price, a top executive at Goldman Properties.

     The units, in turn, will be more appealing to families and to the artists who have made Fort Point their home.

     “If the city was full of one bedroom affordable units, that is not going to solve the affordable housing issue,” said Jessica Shumaker, a spokeswoman for the Boston Redevelopment Authority, which defended the shift.

© 2003 The Boston Herald


SAND Comment

At Fort Point community meeting on August 17, project developer Archon/Goldman stated that the project included 7 affordable units out of 87 units. Company representatives were asked to explain how the BRA would approve the project with an 8% affordable component, while claiming in official documents that affordable units were being generated at 13%-20%.

The developer responded that the building had (2) 3-bedroom units, (3) artist live/work units (1) 1-bedroom and (1) studio. According to Archon representatives, "the Mayor was pleased that we had included a number of 3-bedroom units for families".

Archon/Goldman was asked if the square footage of the affordable component remained at 13%-20%, to justify the BRA's official public statements. Archon/Goldman assured all attendees, including a representative of the Mayor's office, that the square footage totals were in that range.

On Friday August 18, the representative of the Mayor's office asked Archon/Goldman to provide square footage totals for the project, and assured SAND that those figures would be forthcoming. On Tuesday, August 22, The Boston Herald elected (unsolicited) to report on the issue. As of Wednesday August 23, Archon/Goldman's square footage totals have not been received.

In conclusion, this problem does not rest with Archon/Goldman -- the company is developing a welcome conversion from office space to residential use. The issue remains squarely with the BRA -- and goes directly to a troubling disparity between BRA public pronouncements and official statements regarding the City's vision for the South Boston Waterfront and actual project approvals.


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