Image courtesy of RODE Architects
A partnership between The Pine Street Inn and a nonprofit developer completed New England’s largest supportive housing complex in Jamaica Plain.
The Community Builders partnered with the homeless services organization on The Lyndia, including 140 apartments for formerly homeless individuals and 62 income-restricted apartments.
Located at 3368 Washington St., the project was named after activist Lyndi Downie, the Pine Street Inn’s president and executive director.
Mayor Michelle Wu and other officials joined developers at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday.
Groundbreaking was delayed after Monty Gold, the owner of several local commercial properties including one at 3377 Washington St., challenged the Boston Zoning Board of Appeals’ approval of the project, alleging insufficient parking. The lawsuit was settled in 2021.
Spanning 165,501 square feet, the complex includes 13,000 square feet of community space. Pine Street Inn employees will provide supportive services for residents exiting homelessness.
The remaining 62 units are reserved for households earning 30 to 80 percent of area median income.
“We leaned on our commitment to creating a sense of home and place, with hospitality-driven amenities that will transform the lives of community members who need them the most,” RODE Architects Principal Eric Robinson said in a statement.
The project received funding from a wide variety of public and private sources including the Mayor’s Office of Housing, Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, MassDevelopment, Bank of America, Barings Inc., The HYM Investment Group, Community Economic Development Assistance Corp., Boston Medical Center, Corporation for Supportive Housing, M&T Bank and The Life Initiative.
Philanthropic partners included Bank of America, Liberty Mutual Insurance, MassGeneral Brigham, MassMutual and Suffolk Cares.
The event also drew Wu’s only official challenger in this year’s mayoral elections, longtime nonprofit executive Josh Kraft.
Wu, without directly snubbing Kraft by name, praised Boston’s housing chief Sheila Dillon, neighborhood liaisons, and other individuals involved in bringing the new development to fruition.
“So I’m really proud to celebrate with them today and welcome everyone to understand that this is how we do things. It’s not about cutting affordability back in Boston, it’s not about giving tax giveaways to developers,” Wu told reporters. “We need to make sure that housing is affordable and that it actually meets the needs of residents who are here in our city trying to do everything right and just need that extra little foot in the door to be able to live their fullest lives and contribute to our communities.”
State House News Service staff writer Alison Kuznitz contributed reporting.
