Brighton, MA A new and innovative model for veterans’ supportive housing has emerged in a Boston neighborhood, and is now attracting national attention. Located in the burgeoning Allston-Brighton neighborhood, this $46 million residential development, designed by The Architectural Team, Inc. (TAT), will have 102 mixed-income and permanent supportive apartment homes for a variety of distinct veteran populations. Not only will the community accommodate formerly homeless veterans, it will also serve working-class residents and families and offer all of them a full complement of on-site clinical, behavioral health, and family services.
The new project, called the Residences at Brighton Marine, is the first veterans’ development of this scale to be constructed in Boston since World War II, according to local officials. It is also one of the largest currently underway nationwide, offering a new approach to supportive veterans’ housing.
“Unlike traditional, more narrowly focused supportive communities, Residences at Brighton Marine creates a vibrant and diverse “neighborhood” with its various home types meeting a wide range of income eligibility levels,” said TAT senior project manager Jim Podesky, AIA, who is helping spearhead the project. Podesky adds that TAT has specialized in housing for affordable, workforce, and permanent supportive uses.
Formed as a joint venture of WinnDevelopment and the nonprofit veteran network community Brighton Marine, Residences at Brighton Marine combines a new seven-story building with an adapted historic structure to form a campus with 11 studios, 47 one-bedroom units, 33 two-bedrooms, and 11 three-bedroom apartments. At least 11 of the development’s units are set aside for households earning 30% of the area median income (AMI), with 59 units at 60% of the AMI, 10 units at 80% of the AMI, and the remaining 22 units at 120% of the AMI.
Residences at Brighton Marine also represents a key expansion of Massachusetts’ new Workforce Housing Initiative, which provides funding to create 1,000 units of housing for working families.
Located close to a local job center and public transit, the community is ideally sited for veterans entering the workforce. It complements a successful initiative by Brighton Marine that helps homeless veterans and their families find needed funds for security deposits, rent, outstanding utility bills, and moving expenses.
“More than just a housing development, Residences at Brighton Marine represents an understanding that long-term success for veterans and their families depends on access to a broad range of networks, including jobs, transportation, entertainment and services,” said Podesky.
“By providing critical transitional support and comfortable, high-quality apartments in a central, transit-oriented urban location, this ambitious development sets a new precedent for large-scale veterans’ communities.”
Similar projects by TAT include the recently opened Gateway North and Uphams Crossing developments in Massachusetts as well as Valley Brook Village, completed in 2013 in New Jersey.
A ceremony to begin construction held in late June was attended by governor Charlie Baker as well as mayor Marty Walsh and congressman Seth Moulton. The state officials, along with representatives of the design and development teams and members of the local veterans’ community, announced that the project is expected to be completed in late 2019.
