The Bunker Hill Housing Redevelopment project, formerly One Charlestown, aims to create a vibrant, new mixed-income – market rate and deeply affordable – residential community for all Charlestown residents and that pays homage to Charlestown’s local history.
Built in 1940 as federal public housing, the Bunker Hill Housing development is severely depreciated with many buildings in disrepair due to lack of federal funding. Through a public-private partnership with the City of Boston, the existing 42 buildings will be replaced with 15 new residential buildings, retail and community space, as well as green spaces and connections to the surrounding Charlestown neighborhood.
Our team appreciates the many neighborhood residents who attended the community meetings as we continue our planning, and we look forward to working together to make Charlestown an even better home for all members of our community.
Community Engagement
After hearing community input and suggestions, the expanded development team of Joseph J. Corcoran Co. and Leggat McCall Properties, in partnership with the Boston Housing Authority (BHA) and the Charlestown Resident Alliance (CRA), has prepared a revised conceptual plan with a significant reduction in overall height and density. Primary changes since 2016 include lower building heights and a reduction of 500 units. This brings the total unit count down to 2,699 mixed-income apartments - which will include 1,010 deeply affordable replacement units on site. Since our May community meetings, the first building to be constructed has also been revised to be mixed-income (a combination of market-rate and deeply affordable units).
Since the May 2019 public meeting, our team has held several additional public meetings and workshops to solicit input on several topics, including site planning, traffic/parking, construction impacts and mitigation, retail strategy, and exterior design of the first buildings. These were held in addition to the standard public meetings that are part of the official Article 80 public process, which resumed on September 9, 2020.
The Bunker Hill Housing Redevelopment project has now received all master site and phase one design approvals from City of Boston regulatory boards while also securing the necessary private financing to move forward with phase one demolition and construction this winter 2021/2022.
2016 Plan
UNITS
3,200
Mixed Income Housing
INCLUDING
1,100
Deeply Affordable Units
STORIES
22 max
2019 Plan
UNITS
2,699
Mixed Income Housing
INCLUDING
1,010
Deeply Affordable Units
STORIES
10 max
Lower height buildings along Bunker Hill St and Medford St
Replacement of Deeply Affordable Units
The redevelopment will replace 1,010 affordable units on site and BHA will replace the remaining 100 affordable units at an off-site location in Charlestown. There will be no loss of deeply affordable units.
Thoughtful Design
All units and buildings in the redevelopment will be designed and built to the same high-quality standards and include the same amenities.
New Community Parks
Public parks nearly the size of two football fields will bring additional trees, lush landscaping, and open space to the neighborhood. These spaces will create a new public square and recreational amenities for all ages and abilities.
Enhanced Connectivity
New sidewalks and landscape design will create better connections between the development and the neighborhood. The site design will also strengthen the connections to the Navy Yard and Bunker Hill Monument.
Ground-floor Retail
Neighborhood amenities and new retail along Bunker Hill Street will focus on local needs and businesses.
Honor Local History
The redevelopment will seek thoughtful ways to pay homage to Charlestown’s unique local history.
Latest Updates
Site Preparation and Demolition Projected to Start Winter 2022
Sign up for our mailing list and check back at this website for up to date information and details on future public meetings.
November 4, 2021: Information for Public Meetings
The document provided here contains supplemental information about the proposed project that was discussed at the 10/27/21 public meeting.
October 28, 2020: Impact Advisory Group (IAG) Meeting
A copy of the presentation and the recorded meeting are posted on the BPDA website
October 28, 2020: Information for IAG and Public Meetings
The documents provided here contain supplemental information about the proposed project that has been discussed at IAG and public meetings. We will provide additional information about the existing trees on site before the next IAG meeting, and the extended public comment period will allow time for review and additional comments.
October 14, 2020: Impact Advisory Group (IAG) Meeting
A copy of the presentation and the recorded meeting are posted on the BPDA website
October 12, 2020: Information for IAG and Public Meetings
The documents provided here contain supplemental information about the proposed project as well as relevant sections of our DEIR/DPIR and FEIR that have been discussed at IAG and public meetings.
October 6, 2020: BCDC Monthly Meeting Presentation
A copy of the presentation is posted on the BPDA website
September 30, 2020: Impact Advisory Group (IAG) Meeting
A copy of the presentation and the recorded meeting are posted on the BPDA website
September 16, 2020: Impact Advisory Group (IAG) Meeting
A copy of the presentation and the recorded meeting are posted on the BPDA website
September 9, 2020: Public Meeting
Article 80 public process resumes with public meeting hosted by BPDA
A copy of the presentation and the recorded meeting are posted on the BPDA website
May 2020 Video Presentation:
This video will not replace the full and thorough in-person community input and permitting process which has paused and will resume at a later date to be set by the City. When this occurs, we are committed to taking no shortcuts and will reschedule workshops and meetings as soon as we are able to meet again. We will continue to be engaged and working in earnest in our planning efforts.
There will be no loss of deeply affordable units. The BHA will replace the other 100 deeply affordable units off-site at another location in Charlestown.
For the market-rate units, it will be a mix of studios, one, two, and three bedrooms. Deeply affordable units will be a mix of one, two, three, and four bedrooms.
Along Bunker Hill Street, buildings will be 4 stories. Along Medford Street buildings will be 4 stories across from residential areas, and up to 6 stories across from the high school playing fields.
There are several areas throughout the site that will be open to the public. There are two areas in particular that will be larger and feature more amenities. Altogether, the publicly accessible recreational spaces on the site are nearly the size of two football fields.
We do not yet know the exact number of parking spots that will be added. This will be determined through the Article 80 process with feedback from the community.
The Article 80 process for the overall zoning and the first phase resumed after we filed our Draft Project Impact Report (DPIR) on February 18, 2020. The public process was paused due to COVID-19, but is set to resume on September 9, 2020. Each subsequent phase will also be taken through an Article 80 process.
The Phase one waiver is for the state MEPA (Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act) process, not the city process. We are able to request this because as a standalone project the first phase of the Bunker Hill Housing Redevelopment (the first two buildings) would not exceed mandatory environmental requirements to be subject to MEPA review. Our purpose in requesting this waiver is that it enables us to start construction for the first phase only before the MEPA FEIR (Final Environment Impact Report/state) is completed for the overall site plan.
We have not requested any kind of waiver from the BPDA and there is no change in the BPDA Article 80 public process for the overall site plan or the first phase. Construction is still planned to start this Fall.
You will be notified 9 months to a year in advance of when you will move out of your current apartment. At that time, a relocation specialist will work with you to identify the best options for your family. The redevelopment team will maximize the ability to provide on-site, one-way moves for residents.
Boston Housing Authority has hired a relocation specialist to handle this process. They will reach out to you at the appropriate time. In the meantime, you can reach out to BHA staff, Amy Tran at 617-988-4316 with questions.
The land will remain under Boston Housing Authority (BHA) ownership, with each building developed as a privately-owned building subject to a 99-year ground lease with the BHA.. Affordable units will remain affordable under the ground-lease.
Due to a lack of sufficient federal capital funding to upgrade and preserve the development, the BHA entered into a partnership with a private development team (Corcoran/LMP) to redevelop the property to ensure the long-term preservation of the site.
No, the BHA has announced that they are replacing the other 100 deeply affordable units off-site at another location in Charlestown so there will be no loss of any deeply affordable units in Charlestown.
For the market-rate units, it will be a mix of studios, one, two, and three bedrooms. Deeply affordable units will be a mix of one, two, three, and four bedrooms.
Along Bunker Hill Street, buildings will be 4 stories. Along Medford Street buildings will be 4 stories across from residential areas, and up to 6 stories across from the high school playing fields.
The plan calls for a total of 7 acres of open space, of which 2.8 acres will be designated for publicly accessible open space concentrated in four large-format areas throughout the site. Altogether, the publicly accessible open spaces on the site will be more than the size of two football fields. We will continue to work closely with the community to design and program these park-type spaces.
98 (29%) are in poor or dead condition and are not viable for preservation.
242 trees are in good or fair condition and are viable for preservation.
We currently expect that we will be able to preserve 89 trees across the site. This is 37% of the 242 good/fair condition trees.
Over 500 trees will be planted during the 8-10 year development window, nearly doubling the number of individual trees on-site and replacing the total removed DBH (diameter at breast height) after 5-10 years of growth.
Phase 1 preserves 9 out of 29 good/fair condition trees (31%). Trees identified for removal are in locations that conflict with building demolition, road and sidewalk improvements, new building footprints, or grading changes required for accessibility and resiliency.
No. The addition of over 500 new trees will increase the overall tree canopy on site over time and will create a continuous street tree canopy that does not currently exist.
Preserving these trees is a priority to the design and development teams. As part of the overall Master Plan effort, we engaged an Arborist to provide an independent survey and accounting of the Bunker Hill trees. This work provided three important resources. First, the detailed survey allowed us to accurately locate each tree on site and to work with the Architecture and Civil Engineering teams to identify trees which are “most preservable” early in the design process. This evaluation took into account factors such as the location of the tree within the proposed master plan, adjacency to built environment changes which would affect light levels and root extents, and proposed grading changes.
The second major resource is an evaluation of the current health of the existing trees. Like the current housing stock, many of the trees date to the original development in the early 1940s and have not had the benefit of sustained maintenance throughout the decades. The Arborist’s assessment gave the design team tools to identify which trees might be expected to thrive for years to come and which are nearing the end of their natural lifespan. With this knowledge, the design team was able to prioritize the preservation of our healthiest trees and allow them to serve as the foundation for a new urban forestry experience.
Finally, the Arborist’s report identified the current level of species diversity. Species diversity is an incredibly important factor in planning for climate and ecological resiliency. Providing a wide variety of individual tree species protects the urban forest from depletion as a result of disease, invasive pest or inability to adapt to radical climate shifts. Species diversity also provides habitat resources to a wider array of urban wildlife, birds and insect communities. In understanding the current plant community, the design team developed a proposed tree palette which acknowledges the current species range and provides a wider range of supplemental species in the form of new trees. This expansion of species diversity will continue beyond the trees and include a broad selection of native/adaptive shrubs and perennials – replacing the current landscape largely dominated by yews and grass.
The Arborist's report can be found here. Find more information about trees here.
We do not yet know the exact number of parking spots that will be added. This will be determined through the Article 80 process with feedback from the community.
We officially resumed our Article 80 process after we filed our Draft Project Impact Report (DPIR) on February 18, 2020. However, the public process was paused, and public meetings were postponed in March due to COVID-19. We resumed that public process with our first BPDA public meeting on September 9, 2020, followed by additional IAG, BCDC, and public meetings for full public review.
The project has now received all master site and phase one design approvals from City of Boston regulatory boards. Subsequent phases will also be taken through public comment and BCDC design review processes.
We submitted our Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) to MEPA in July 2020 and have now received our final MEPA certificate for the entire site, including Phase 1.
Prior to COVID we sought a Phase 1 waiver because of timing considerations. We were able to request this because as a standalone project the first phase of the Bunker Hill Housing Redevelopment (the first two buildings) would not exceed mandatory environmental requirements to be subject to MEPA review. Our purpose in requesting this waiver was to enable us to start construction for the first phase only before the MEPA FEIR (Final Environment Impact Report/state) was completed for the overall site plan. This did not affect the BPDA Article 80 process and we continued to engage with the MEPA office regularly when the City public process was paused in March 2020. Due to delays associated with COVID-19, the Phase 1 waiver was no longer relevant as we completed the full MEPA process for the entire site before the start of construction on Phase 1.
As we develop the project’s Construction Management Plan, more detailed meetings will be held this summer with Phase One abutters and this fall with the Charlestown community.
The Development team will continue to send monthly e-updates to residents/general public who sign up for our mailing list here.
You will be notified 9 months to a year in advance of when you will move out of your current apartment. At that time, a relocation specialist will work with you to identify the best options for your family. The redevelopment team will maximize the ability to provide on-site, one-way moves for residents. Residents in Phase 1A can click here for more information about relocation.
Boston Housing Authority has hired a relocation specialist to handle this process. They will reach out to you at the appropriate time. In the meantime, you can reach out to BHA staff, Amy Tran at 617-988-4316 with questions.
The land will remain under Boston Housing Authority (BHA) ownership, with each building developed as a privately-owned building subject to a 99-year ground lease with the BHA. Affordable units will remain affordable under the ground-lease.
The new buildings will be managed by a management company hired by the developer with input from the BHA and CRA. Existing buildings will continue to be managed by the BHA until demolished.
Due to a lack of sufficient federal capital funding to upgrade and preserve the development, the BHA entered into a partnership with a private development team (Corcoran/LMP) to redevelop the property to ensure the long-term preservation of the site.
There are both mixed-income buildings (market-rate and deeply affordable units) and all affordable buildings in the development.
There are no 100% market-rate buildings.
The unit mix in the mixed-income buildings is currently 78% market-rate and 22% deeply affordable.
In addition to the proposed 78/22 buildings, we have also introduced the possibility of a future mixed-income building that is 20-25% market-rate and 75-80% affordable. This is an alternative we have proposed to use in order to fulfill the commitment of only having 3 all-affordable buildings if the market conditions are insufficient to enable the remaining affordable units to be incorporated into the remaining buildings after Phase 3, all of which would then be 72% market-rate/28% affordable. (Note: this is in contrast to 78/22 and is the ratio that would allow all of the remaining affordable units to be incorporated into predominantly market-rate mixed-income buildings starting in Phase 4.)
The unit mix in the overall development is 63% market-rate and 37% deeply affordable.
The Development team will continue to post the latest information on this website.
The Development team will continue to answer community questions via email at info@bunkerhillhousing.com.
The Development team will continue to send monthly e-updates to residents/general public who sign up for our mailing list here.
The Boston Housing Authority (BHA) and the Charlestown Residents Alliance (CRA) will provide consistent updates via a printed newsletter to current Bunker Hill Housing residents. The CRA also encourages Bunker Hill residents to join their Facebook page.
As part of the continued planning process, development team members will continue to meet with individual community organizations and elected officials as appropriate.
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