THE VISION FOR OLMSTED VILLAGE | AFFORDABLE HOUSING | MATTAPAN, MA
Olmsted Village: The next phase of a vision coming to life
The vision for Olmsted Green commenced in 2008 to provide affordable housing for working families, supportive services for households building a better future and senior households seeking safe and affordable homes. This vision further expanded to include the Brooke Charter School K-8 and high school facilities and to welcome 150 homeowners who will also have the opportunity to build up equity and enjoy the benefits of homeownership.
Olmsted Village — is continuing to build on the original vision and expanding it to create an intergenerational community with 269 new housing opportunities. The principles of Olmsted Village are those that guided Lena New Boston through prior phases, affordable housing with supportive services, aging gracefully in community, beautiful landscaping, and homeownership opportunities to grow family and amass equity.
Guiding Principles: Olmsted Village
Housing opportunities that are broadly affordable
Olmsted Village will create a total of 269 new housing opportunities with the vast majority targeted toward affordability in both the homeownership and rental communities. This affordability will be augmented by a robust suite of supportive services.
Economic opportunity
The project will create more than 600 short- and long-term employment and training opportunities for community residents and local minority- and women-owned businesses through capacity-building joint ventures for the $100 million of construction work, and the ongoing operations of the entire development.
Mental health support
Fifteen percent of the new housing and 10% of the job and job training opportunities on the site will be available to households and individuals receiving services from the Department of Mental Health.
Community connections and open space
A multi-modal pedestrian walkway will connect Harvard Street with Mass Audubon’s 67-acre Boston Nature Center and Wildlife Sanctuary, providing residents with easy access to the Center’s natural open spaces, picnic areas, playgrounds, and landscaped areas with native plantings. Preservation and restoration of the adjacent woods will create a forested buffer between Olmsted Village and the Center. A network of pedestrian trails, playgrounds, and gardens will encourage physical activity and fitness for people of all ages.
Sustainability and the environment
Olmsted Village will be created using sustainable design and green building principles with creative solutions to address stormwater management and solar energy. Four of the largest buildings will be built to Passive House-certifiable standards.
Community center, recreation, and programming
The first floor of Brooke House will include a Village Center that will serve as a hub of community life. Within the Village Center, residents will have access to a community center with a variety of programs, a childcare center operated by the Shattuck Child Care Center, a health center, and a convenience store.
Social equity and community contributions
Lena New Boston and 2Life Communities will contribute a total of $1.5 million to a variety of community-based, non-profit organizations providing critical services. An additional $500,000 will be put into a community trust. Furthering the team’s commitment to creating wealth-building opportunities, the project’s financing will provide short-term, high-return equity investment opportunities to a socially and culturally diverse group of investors. The project provides 82 homeownership opportunities for the buyers to create equity over the period of their ownership.