First phase of Orient Heights public housing redevelopment breaks ground

A groundbreaking ceremony was held last Wednesday (December 7th) for the first phase of the redevelopment of the aging 15-acre Orient Heights public housing development in East Boston. Phase One, budgeted at approximately $52 million and expected to open in early 2018, will replace four existing buildings containing 90 apartments with 120 affordable housing units across a series of townhouses and one mid-rise building. Upon completion, the four-phased Orient Heights Redevelopment will replace 331 public housing units built in 1951 with 415 housing units, including 373 affordable and 42 market-rate.

“This public housing facility has been the home of many families for decades, and I am proud that with the support of our state and federal partners we are revitalizing current facilities, while creating new living spaces for future residents,” said Mayor Martin J. Walsh at the groundbreaking. The development team hopes to build off of the success of past public housing redevelopment in East Boston. “We are looking forward to working with our development partners Trinity Financial to revitalize the community as we successfully did together at the Maverick development in Eastie several years ago,” stated Boston Housing Authority Administrator Bill McGonagle. The following is a photograph from the Orient Heights groundbreaking:

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