An aerial of the Mary Ellen McCormack pubic housing complex in South Boston.

BOSTON—The Boston Housing Authority has selected WinnDevelopment to redevelop one of the largest public housing communities in New England—the Mary Ellen McCormack complex in South Boston.

The BHA picked Boston-based WinnDevelopment over four other proposals to redevelop the Mary Ellen McCormack complex that currently onsists of 1,016 deeply subsidized apartments and row houses.

The proposed $1.6-billion redevelopment would take place in four phases and calls for a total of approximately 3,000 new units, including replacement of all existing units, creation of workforce (middle-income) units, as well as market rate apartments and home ownership condominiums. In addition, all units, regardless of affordability level, will be of identical quality and integrated evenly among the newly constructed buildings.

“The Mary Ellen McCormack redevelopment effort is another example of our commitment to improving the quality of the lives of the public housing residents of Boston,” says Mayor Martin J. Walsh. “As the oldest public housing development in the city, MEM marks an important piece of our history and also serves as a significant example of how important and needed our public housing communities are. We must preserve this resource.”

The plan specifically features the demolition of the 27 three-story brick buildings on the 27-acre property in phases, replacing all of the existing 1,016 units of federally subsidized housing on a one-for-one basis with a series of building types. The new community will offer housing for all income levels, including hundreds of workforce housing for middle-income residents and approximately 1,800 market rate apartments and condominiums.

“We are grateful for the chance to partner with the McCormack residents, the BHA and the City of Boston to redevelop this community into a first class mixed-income neighborhood,” says WinnCompanies CEO Gilbert Winn. “We recognize the property is old and therefore requires a major redevelopment effort. Our goal then, is to move through the formal approval process as quickly as possible while paying close attention to resident and community input.”

A selection committee consisting of residents of the Mary Ellen McCormack public housing development and BHA staff reviewed proposals and interviewed all teams that submitted proposals. The Winn team received high points from the selection committee for its demonstrated model for strong resident partnerships and robust resident services, according to the BHA.

The BHA issued the Request for Proposals for the redevelopment of the Mary Ellen McCormack site in March of this year as part of a wider strategy to upgrade and make sustainable its affordable housing communities in the wake of historic federal budget cuts.

An aerial of the Mary Ellen McCormack pubic housing complex in South Boston.

BOSTON—The Boston Housing Authority has selected WinnDevelopment to redevelop one of the largest public housing communities in New England—the Mary Ellen McCormack complex in South Boston.

The BHA picked Boston-based WinnDevelopment over four other proposals to redevelop the Mary Ellen McCormack complex that currently onsists of 1,016 deeply subsidized apartments and row houses.

The proposed $1.6-billion redevelopment would take place in four phases and calls for a total of approximately 3,000 new units, including replacement of all existing units, creation of workforce (middle-income) units, as well as market rate apartments and home ownership condominiums. In addition, all units, regardless of affordability level, will be of identical quality and integrated evenly among the newly constructed buildings.

“The Mary Ellen McCormack redevelopment effort is another example of our commitment to improving the quality of the lives of the public housing residents of Boston,” says Mayor Martin J. Walsh. “As the oldest public housing development in the city, MEM marks an important piece of our history and also serves as a significant example of how important and needed our public housing communities are. We must preserve this resource.”

The plan specifically features the demolition of the 27 three-story brick buildings on the 27-acre property in phases, replacing all of the existing 1,016 units of federally subsidized housing on a one-for-one basis with a series of building types. The new community will offer housing for all income levels, including hundreds of workforce housing for middle-income residents and approximately 1,800 market rate apartments and condominiums.

“We are grateful for the chance to partner with the McCormack residents, the BHA and the City of Boston to redevelop this community into a first class mixed-income neighborhood,” says WinnCompanies CEO Gilbert Winn. “We recognize the property is old and therefore requires a major redevelopment effort. Our goal then, is to move through the formal approval process as quickly as possible while paying close attention to resident and community input.”

A selection committee consisting of residents of the Mary Ellen McCormack public housing development and BHA staff reviewed proposals and interviewed all teams that submitted proposals. The Winn team received high points from the selection committee for its demonstrated model for strong resident partnerships and robust resident services, according to the BHA.

The BHA issued the Request for Proposals for the redevelopment of the Mary Ellen McCormack site in March of this year as part of a wider strategy to upgrade and make sustainable its affordable housing communities in the wake of historic federal budget cuts.

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John Jordan

John Jordan is a veteran journalist with 36 years of print and digital media experience.