Boston Planning Board Approves Targeted Tax Abatements for Four Housing Projects, Unlocking 1,400 Homes
BOSTON — Boston is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts. The board of the Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA) on October 15 approved agreements to enable targeted, time-limited property tax abatements for four previously approved market-rate housing developments, together unlocking 1,400 homes, including more than 180 income-restricted homes, and supporting an estimated 1,582 jobs across Boston. The package, proposed last month by Mayor Michelle Wu's administration, carries an estimated $31.5 million in temporary tax relief.
The four projects are One Mystic Avenue in Charlestown, a 16-story building with 408 homes, 45 of them income-restricted, across from Sullivan Station, with a $14 million Inclusionary Development Policy (IDP) contribution; 22-24 Pratt Street in Allston, a 16-story development with 318 homes, 27 income-restricted, and an $8.1 million IDP contribution; 83 Leo M. Birmingham Parkway in Brighton, converting a former radio-station site into 333 homes, 52 income-restricted; and Allston Yards Building D in Allston, with 341 homes. Together the projects will provide more than $20 million in IDP funding.
Under the arrangements, the abatements temporarily defer a portion of each project's property tax increases; developers will continue to pay at least the same property taxes they pay today, and the city will experience no net revenue loss. The incentives begin only after construction is complete and can run for five or ten years. The board's approval allows formal negotiations to begin between the city and each project team, and the relief is intended to let the projects begin construction within the next year.
"Residents urgently need more housing now, and we can't afford to let approved projects that are ready to build remain stalled because of today's tough economic headwinds," Wu said when proposing the package. "These targeted abatements would help put shovels in the ground within the next year, creating 1,400 new homes and over 1,500 jobs — all with no net revenue loss to the City." The city said it prioritized larger developments of more than 100 units that include income-restricted housing and high energy-efficiency standards. (GSM, based on City of Boston and Boston Planning Department public releases)
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 波士顿（Boston）市政厅（Epicgenius 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons 取得）
