By Cory Fellows, Vice President Real Estate Development
For cities and suburban areas contending with housing crises and traffic challenges, transit-oriented development (TOD) can be a doubly valuable tool. TOD has gotten a great deal of recent attention in Massachusetts, where the MBTA Communities Act requires cities and towns served by regional public transit to adopt “reasonably sized” zoning districts where multifamily housing is allowed as of right. There are no affordability requirements, but the hope is that the Act will promote affordability by incentivizing greater density and that at least some projects will include income restrictions by virtue of their financing sources. With a few well-publicized exceptions, communities have been complying –potentially laying the groundwork for a pipeline of TOD developments.
In 2023, Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH) and its partners completed an ambitious and award-winning TOD project known as The Loop at Mattapan Station, a 135-unit mixed-income property with ground-floor commercial space located on what until recently had been a largely underutilized MBTA commuter parking lot in the Mattapan section of Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood. While The Loop’s origin story and development process pre-dated the zoning changes associated with the MBTA Communities Act, those experiences include some themes and lessons which may be relevant to future TOD efforts.
Not an Express Route – Community Priorities, Agency Process
Mattapan Station is an important transit hub, with approximately 1,300 passengers per day riding the iconic orange trolley cars on the “Red Line Extension” which winds its way through the southern edge of Dorchester. The station is also a key depot for eight different MBTA bus routes which use a busy loop (part of the inspiration for the TOD project’s name) to drop off and pick up passengers traveling to and from all corners of the city.
After being selected to develop the site through an MBTA RFP process, it took nearly four years for the POAH team to work through the community outreach process, complete designs, obtain city land-use approvals, secure financing from several sources, and negotiate a 99-year ground lease with the MBTA. Construction took another 2+ years. That timeline was driven by the sheer scale and complexity of the project, impacts from the COVID pandemic – and, significantly, the unique challenges associated with undertaking a complex affordable housing transaction in collaboration with a transit agency that has its own vocabulary and priorities.
Overcoming the Language Barrier – Getting to Groundbreaking
Even within the wonky world of multifamily development, it can be difficult to keep track of the alphabet soup of acronyms representing different programs. When that lingo collides with the priorities and culture of a transit agency that has its own core mission, something is bound to get lost in translation and some friction is inevitable. One of the key takeaways from the Loop journey was that some of the key components of affordable development, including the core terms and restrictions associated with the Low Income Housing Tax Credit and the investment partnership through which it is monetized to fund multifamily housing, did not mesh easily with the time horizons and risk-mitigation impulses of a sprawling transit agency.
There also were micro-level challenges around details like ground lease terms, liability provisions, and guaranties. POAH was eager to resolve those items so the new housing could be built and brought online as expeditiously as possible (mindful of escalating construction costs and volatile debt and equity markets), while the MBTA understandably placed a higher priority on anticipating and mitigating institutional and reputational risk while ensuring that its operations would not be interrupted. This resulted in many hours of conversations between staff and attorneys, including impromptu housing finance primers which were referred to during lighter moments as “Affordable Housing 101.”
Keeping Transit in the Loop – Construction Coordination
The MBTA made clear at the outset that ongoing bus operations would remain a priority, and that a 50-space commuter parking lot would have to be provided near the center of the site. The agency thoroughly reviewed the construction drawings and required pre-construction meetings with the entire team. Once work was underway, there were weekly meetings and calls to review progress, schedules, and any safety concerns. Any construction activity that could potentially impact the bus loop, including the use of cranes in adjacent areas, required advance approval and had to be closely coordinated with MBTA personnel. Strict protocols prohibited unauthorized vehicles from accessing the bus loop, and the MBTA required the General Contractor to provide flaggers to facilitate the safe movement of buses in and out of the loop. All of these measures added costs and time.
Arrival
Today The Loop is a success by any measure. The apartments – which are home to households with incomes ranging from 30% to 80% of Area Median Income – are fully occupied, and many of the residents take buses or trains to work, school and other activities. Residents also have access to low-cost e-bikes, and the redeveloped property is now a welcoming gateway to the Neponset River Greenway. Perhaps the greatest single testament to the project’s success as a TOD effort is the fact that, despite offering fewer than 50 off-street parking spaces, The Loop had over 2,000 applicants for the 135 apartments and parking has not been voiced as an issue for residents. Meanwhile MBTA ridership continues its rebound from pandemic lows, with both bus and trolley operations running smoothly alongside and around the property.
Given this proof of concept, my hope is that future TOD initiatives will draw on the lessons of The Loop - including:
- Transit agencies should be encouraged to think about TOD as a core priority rather than a peripheral activity, recognizing that successful projects can boost ridership and generate a positive economic return.
- Developers and transit agencies must do pro-active and responsive community outreach to ensure that development plans align as closely as possible with local needs and aspirations.
- Development teams should budget liberally for the costs and the time necessary to formulate and implement a TOD project, keeping in mind that working with even the most well-intentioned transit partner will come with some challenges.
- Cities and towns should re-evaluate parking requirements, balancing the needs of car-centric commuters with the people who actually live at or near project sites and rely on transit.
The Loop at Mattapan Station is a 135-unit mixed-income property with ground-floor commercial space located on what until recently had been a largely underutilized MBTA commuter parking lot. The iconic orange Boston trolley can be seen in the back. The property is adjacent to the Neponset River Greenway and the site of historic businesses.