Mayor Wu, along with City and State officials, today celebrated the first 141 homes that are currently under construction and being converted from former vacant office buildings, as part of the City of Boston’s Office to Residential Conversion Program, 26 of which will be income-restricted. These buildings include 263 Summer Street, 129 Portland Street, 615 Albany Street, and 281 Franklin Street. The building at 281 Franklin Street, which will create 15 homes, will have tenants move in at the end of the summer.
“Boston is building the foundation for a stronger, more vibrant downtown through our dedication to housing, public safety, and economic growth. As cities across the country look to revitalize and reenergize their downtown neighborhoods, in Boston downtown foot traffic is up and commercial vacancies have been nearly cut in half with a focus on safety, business recruitment, and activation,” said Mayor Michelle Wu. “The Office to Residential Conversion program is critical to this momentum. Today marks a major milestone for housing creation, with 780 units in the pipeline for the Office to Residential Conversion program and a groundbreaking for 141 of those new homes. Working with the state, the business community, and neighborhood partners, we’re bucking national and local trends and transforming underutilized office space into homes for over a thousand new residents.”
“Acknowledging the challenges in the construction industry today, it is extremely exciting that we can celebrate the conversion of multiple office buildings into new homes in our Downtown,” said Chief of Planning Kairos Shen. “This program is one part of our multi-pronged approach to expand housing options Downtown to respond to post-pandemic economic shifts and create a vibrant, 18-hour, mixed-use neighborhood.”
The building at 263 Summer Street will create 77 homes in the historic district of Fort Point. As part of the conversion, the building will preserve the historic Boston Wharf Co. sign. At 60,000 SF, this is the first Article 80 Large Project to go through the Office-to-Residential Conversion Program and is located in close proximity to South Station, easily connecting it to the rest of the region.
