A Mission Hill block sat in limbo for 20 years. Now developers are facing new resistance

The opposition appears to go beyond the typical “not in my backyard” sentiment that has hampered developments in the past. Several neighbors who spoke to the Globe, those who submitted letters opposing the project and city leaders say trust has waned among residents, who see the development as another sign of a rapidly changing city that is about to one of the highest housing costs in the country.

Residents say luxury apartments have priority over affordable housing. Studios and smaller apartments target transient students and young professionals, leaving limited opportunities for families to remain in the neighborhood and for locals to build wealth through homeownership.

The developers pushed back. “In the midst of a severe housing crisis with ongoing interest rate issues and some of the highest construction costs in the country, we have worked with the city and the BPD to address community feedback,” Weston Development Director David MacKay said in a statement. MacKay declined a public telephone interview.

The proposed development at 80-100 Smith St. would include two buildings, one eight stories and the other 13. The buildings would be a mix of studios, one- and two-bedroom apartments, and 33 of the units would be affordable housing.

Boston Housing Authority Administrator Kenzie Bok and Boston City Councilwoman Sharon Durkan both submitted letters asking the BPDA to put the project on hold until enough community outreach has occurred.

“True engagement requires time, resources and proactive commitment from the supporter. During my time representing Mission Hill on this project, none of this was present in the neighborhood,” Durkan wrote.

Similarly, Bok wrote, “It is important to us that low-income residents are treated with the same respect and consideration in these processes that wealthier neighbors may receive.”

MacKay said his company “conducted itself with the utmost respect and professionalism, contacted all community stakeholders early and often, responded to suggestions and made responsive changes.”

Most recently, MacKay said the company offered the Mission Hill Tenant Task Force an additional $50,000 to support residents’ financial needs.

Developers first filed their intention to build apartments and office space in 2004. Boston city officials accepted the proposal, but soon after, a resident filed a zoning lawsuit that was ultimately dismissed in 2008. At that point, economic conditions during the Great Recession brought plans to a halt indefinitely.

In the years that followed, there were several attempts to develop the space, including a plan that would have called for Harvard University to lease part of the new building (Harvard currently leases 90 Smith St.), but that also failed. A series of stops and expired permits over the next decade left St. Alphonsus Hall vacant and falling into disrepair.

Some residents said the 20-year saga was reminiscent of urban renewal in Mission Hill in the 1960s, when city officials demolished so-called “dilapidated neighborhoods” to make way for new housing and displace communities of color.

“I’m kind of sick of it,” said Willie Pearl Clark, a local activist and leader of the Mission Main Tenant Task Force, who submitted a letter opposing the development in February. “I can’t tell you how many years I’ve fought for this community.”

The building was ultimately demolished in 2023, much to the dismay of neighbors like Clark, who called it a “classic example of demolition by neglect,” where a building is intentionally left to rot until it needs to be torn down. Clark opposes the housing development, citing concerns about affordability and a lack of trust in the developer.

MacKay, the developer, said when he first purchased the property that he wanted to build on top of the structure to maintain the original facade.

Civil engineers examined renovating the hall, but considered it too expensive. Documents from 2005 submitted to the BPDA indicate that renovating just 34 feet of the hall would cost about $6 million. St. Alphonsus Hall was over 29,000 square feet and required new floors and additional underground parking spaces.

“We had no interest in demolishing this building during our approval process as it was an emotional issue for many in the community,” MacKay said via text message. Had the 2005 lawsuit not drawn out the process, the development would have already been completed, he added.

The reality today is that more housing is needed – something residents, officials and even developers agree on. The Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association estimates Massachusetts will need to produce 200,000 new units by 2030.

Of course, not all Mission Hill residents are against the development.

“I am someone who truly believes that the only way to solve the housing crisis is to build more housing of all kinds,” said Christopher Freiss, who came to Boston to study and has made Mission Hill his home for two decades.

“If there’s granite underneath, build it 90 stories high everywhere,” he said. Freiss pointed to cities like Houston that relaxed housing regulations and were able to keep prices lower. The Pew Charitable Trusts also highlighted Minneapolis for land-use reforms such as eliminating parking minimums and other changes that helped increase housing stock by 12 percent from 2017 to 2022, while rents rose just one percent.

Martin Beinborn, president of the Community Alliance of Mission Hill, said while the community wants and needs housing, cities and developers need to prioritize the opportunity for both affordability and homeownership, rather than buildings that will “sooner or later.” could become another student residence,” he said.

There are also concerns that the proposed development could compete with the historic Catholic Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. “This is kind of the heart of Mission Hill and really destroys the heart of our neighborhood,” Beinborn said. Down the street on Tremont Street are other residential buildings similar in size to the proposed development.

The project currently appears to be in limbo. It is unclear when it will be submitted to the BPDA for final approval. However, the developer expects to discuss the project at the next meeting in January.

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly listed Kenzie Bok’s title as BHA CEO and Kate Bennet’s title as BPDA Administrator.

This story was produced by the Globe’s Money, power, inequality Team covering the racial wealth gap in the Greater Boston area. You can sign up for the newsletter Here.

Esmy Jimenez can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her @esmyjimenez.