Photo by Peter Bowring | Courtesy of the Dorchester Design Collaborative

What: Passive Home development
Where: 104-108 Norwell St., Dorchester
Owner: Dorchester Design Collaborative
Built: 2025-2026

Passive House-style building shells are complete at a 12-unit affordable housing project being built on formerly vacant, city-owned properties at 104-108 Norwell St. in Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood.

Dorchester Design Collaborative is a partnership between Jennifer Ha of Hue Architecture and Milo Stella of Star Contracting Co., both of Boston. The project was partially assembled off-site by Bensonwood, a Keene, New Hampshire-based home panelization company.

The project is part of the city’s Welcome Home Boston program, which issued requests for proposals to develop vacant lots for affordable home ownership projects.

Off-site assembly reduced the project schedule while providing additional controls over costs. The project was financed by a $3.2 million construction loan from Massachusetts Housing Investment Corp. and grants from the city of Boston and MassHousing’s CommonWealth Builder program.

They Said It:

“We believe affordable housing should never compromise on quality. We hope 104-108 Norwell St. serves as a benchmark for Boston. This project is the perfect example of why we do this work – a vision realized only by bringing together an exceptional, owner-integrated design-build-prefab team.”

— Jennifer Ha, co-founder, Dorchester Design Collaborative

Photo by Peter Bowring | Courtesy of the Dorchester Design Collaborative

Photo by Peter Bowring | Courtesy of the Dorchester Design Collaborative