Boston Sets Affordable Housing Record

Boston has surpassed the 1,000 new units of affordable housing units permitted in a single year (2015) dating back 20 years of record-keeping, according to information released by City Hall.

Last year 1,022 new housing units were created breaking the 2004 record of 862 units, according to a press release issued by the Mayor’s press office which also noted that Boston is now running at 107 percent of the target rate needed to create the 6,500 new units of affordable housing called for in Mayor Martin J Walsh’s housing plan.

Of these new affordable units, 364 will be affordable to households making below 30 percent of area median income. In addition, this number includes 658 units of deed-restricted units affordable to the middle class.

The estimated total development cost for these affordable units is approximately $492 million.

With 19 percent of its housing units reserved to help house its low and moderate income residents, Boston’s share of affordable housing is higher than any other major city in the country.

The City of Boston is currently home to an estimated 28,400 low-income households who need affordable housing. Demographic projections show that by 2030, there will be approximately 9,750 additional low-income non-elderly households living in Boston, resulting in a projected affordable housing need of approximately 38,200 units by 2030.

“We are committed to creating a Boston that anyone, at any income level, can afford to live in,” said Mayor Walsh in a press release. “I am pleased that because of our administration’s commitment to creating affordable housing, we have been able to capture the strong real estate market, create jobs and give more people and families the opportunity to find affordable housing in Boston.”