Boston Council Committee Hears Request for $110 Million Housing Accelerator Fund

BOSTON — January 14, 2025 — Boston City Council Ways and Means Committee hears $110 million Housing Accelerator Fund request. Chair Brian Worrell convened the January 14 hearing on Docket 0108, a mayoral request to draw $110 million from the city's approximately $1.3 billion unrestricted fund balance to launch a three-pronged housing investment program. Deputy Chief of Planning Devin Quirk told the committee that construction materials costs have more than doubled since the pandemic and the federal treasury rate is at a 17-year high, leaving thousands of approved projects unable to close financing. The fund would take a 10 percent public equity stake alongside MassHousing's Momentum Fund in stalled private rental projects — targeting 750 to 1,000 units — while also financing Boston Housing Authority redevelopment of Bunker Hill Building F, a 265-unit mixed-income building that BHA Administrator Kenzie Bach called "shovel-ready" but frozen by collapsed market-rate financing. A home ownership pilot component, to be administered through a third-party lender selected by RFP, would target 10 to 15 stalled ownership projects. The city expects a 4 to 6 percent return on investment over roughly 10 years, compared to the 11 to 15 percent returns private equity demands; all rental projects funded must set aside at least 20 percent of units as income-restricted housing. A floor vote is expected by January 31.