Boston Council Hears $45M Housing Package Covering Recovery, Affordable Units

BOSTON — July 30, 2024 — Boston's housing committee hears $5M recovery-housing grant and $40M IDP funding expansion. The City Council Committee on Housing and Community Development, chaired by Councillor Liz Breadon, took testimony Tuesday on two measures: Docket 0695, a $5 million state ARPA grant from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to fund 24-month rapid rehousing and wraparound services for individuals exiting substance use disorder treatment, and Docket 0633, a $40 million expansion of the city's authority to accept and expend Inclusionary Development Policy funds — the seventh such request since 2015, which would bring cumulative authorization to roughly $225 million. Chief of Housing Sheila Dillon and IDP finance director Rick Wilson told councillors that demand for the next joint RFP, totaling roughly $40 million, already faces an estimated $100 million in applications. Dillon flagged that IDP revenue is expected to decline as fewer developers cash out rather than build on-site, while the payment-in-lieu formula — unchanged since 2015 at $200,000 to $380,000 per unit — is now under evaluation for adjustment as the policy moves toward zoning codification this fall.