NAIOP-MA CEO Tamara Small, left, addresses a panel at Goulston & Storrs' Boston office on Feb. 25, 2025. From left: Marcus Partners partner Levi Reilly, Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, Goulston & Storrs attorney David Linhart and Housing Secretary Ed Augustus. Photo by James Sanna | Banker & Tradesman Staff
If Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll and Housing Secretary Ed Augustus had one message when speaking to real estate movers and shakers Tuesday morning in downtown Boston, it was “watch this space.”
The two officials joined Levi Reilly, a partner at developer Marcus Partners, Goulston & Storrs attorney David Linhart and NAIOP-MA CEO Tamara Small for a panel discussion about the dozens of recommendations put forward by a Gov. Maura Healey-commissioned housing expert panel Friday.
Small, Linhart and Reilly all served on the Unlocking Housing Production Commission, which Augustus chaired.
“The Affordable Homes Act is not a one-and-done. It is going to need this constant attention,” Driscoll told the hundred-plus attendees at the event organized by NAIOP, one of the main developer trade groups. “Our hope with this report is, we can start to unpack those things that can move the needle that can lead to getting things done.”
The commission’s ideas ranged from high-profile lighting rods like legalizing up to four units on all residential lots with sewer service to mundane-sounding but potentially impactful reforms to how modular housing factories get certified. Tuesday’s event marked the first public comments from high-profile administration figures on the report, which was billed as a menu of options for Healey and her team to consider.
“Governor Healey, myself – along with Sec. Augustus and his team – are still reviewing all the recommendations. And there are some third-rail things in there,” Driscoll said. “I think that’s good. Like, we don’t want to be limited, because we can’t afford to be.”
With the report still fresh, neither Driscoll nor Augustus committed to a timeline for when the administration hoped to roll out any of the legislative, administrative or regulatory ideas contained in the report.
” I wouldn’t put a timeline yet, other than, I think, everybody’s anxious to keep the ball rolling and find ways to help” lower housing costs in Massachusetts, Augustus said in a brief interview after the event.
