Two Community Builders, Inc. developed properties earn ULI award - including $143 million Charlesview Residences designed by CBT architects

Charlesview Residences - Boston, MA

Boston, MA The Charlesview Residences and The Town Homes at Brighton Mills in the Allston-Brighton neighborhood of the city, were selected as recipients of the 2015 Urban Land Institute (ULI) Terwilliger Center for Housing Jack Kemp Excellence in Affordable and Workforce Housing Award. The award honors developments that ensure housing affordability for people with a range of incomes.

The $143 million Charlesview Residences, co-developed by The Community Builders, Inc. (TCB) and partner Charlesview Inc and designed by CBT Architects, replaced the physically obsolete 213- unit Charlesview Apartments. The new community is home to 240 families and has pedestrian trails, a 10,000 s/f community center and 15,000 s/f retail space that houses a Spanish-immersion preschool and two restaurants.

“TCB is honored to win the prestigious ULI Jack Kemp Award. We’re committed to preserving and developing high-quality housing for people of all incomes,” said Eliza Datta, vice president of development at TCB New England.

“The original Charlesview Apartments was borne out of the struggle to preserve affordable workforce housing during the time of urban renewal. The new Charlesview Residences is an expansion of that original mission. We are especially honored to be recognized by the ULI with the Jack Kemp Award” said Rev. Frank Glynn, Charlesview, Inc. board chairman.

Town Homes at Brighton Mills - Boston, MA

Charlesview Residences used an innovative approach to the preservation of an affordable housing resource by transferring the Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) subsidy, capitalizing on the value of the original land through a pioneering land swap with Harvard University, and relocating residents to the newly developed site only one-half mile away. In addition, Charlesview Residences expanded the former development with additional workforce, market-rate, and homeownership units. There’s also a new park and public infrastructure.

The beautiful, newly constructed Town Homes at Brighton Mills—developed solely by TCB—is home to 20 families. The new homes feature EnergyStar rated appliances, engineered wood floors and parking spaces for the owners. Half of the units are reserved for families earning 100 percent of area median income (AMI) and half are for families earning 80% of AMI.

“One of the most impressive elements of this project was the developer’s partnership with a major university, which is the type of approach that would work in many other communities,” said juror, Linda Mandolini, president, Eden Housing, and previous Kemp Award winner.

ULI established the Jack Kemp Excellence in Affordable and Workforce Housing Award in 2008, naming it in memory of Jack Kemp, former secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and ULI Twerlinger Center national advisory board member. The award is given annually to affordable and workforce housing developments that represent outstanding achievements in several areas, including affordability, innovative financing and building technologies, proximity to employment centers and transportation hubs, quality of design, involvement of public/private partnerships, and replicability of the development, among other criteria.

TCB is one of America’s leading nonprofit real estate developers and owners. Our mission is to build and sustain strong communities where people of all incomes can achieve their full potential. We realize our mission by developing, financing and operating high-quality housing and implementing neighborhood self-help initiatives to drive economic opportunity for our residents. Since 1964, we have constructed or preserved over 320 affordable and mixed-income housing developments and secured over $2.5 billion in project financing from public and private sources. Today, we own or manage more than 10,000 apartments in 14 states and Washington, D.C. We are headquartered in Boston with regional hubs in Chicago and Washington.

Charlesview, Inc., founded 44 years ago by a consortium of religious organizations amid tensions over urban renewal, developed and managed the original Charlesview Apartments. Three of the founding congregations – St. Anthony’s Catholic Church, Community United Methodist Church and Congregation Kadimah-Toras Moshe still actively manage Charlesview, Inc., under the leadership of an executive director and board of directors. The organization is dedicated to advancing the well-being of individuals and families and promoting the diversity and vibrancy of the Allston/Brighton community by providing quality, affordable homes, programs designed to enrich, educate and inspire, and support for community organizations through innovative philanthropy.