New housing opens on Boston State site

Jeremy Schwab

After 18 months of construction, workers have finally completed the first phase of the new Harvard Commons development off of Harvard St near Gallivan Boulevard.

The first phase brings 45 new units of housing to the site. Cruz Development Corporation Vice President Danny Cruz said it was about time the land — the site of the former Boston State Hospital — was redeveloped.

“I think it cures an eyesore in the community that has been prevalent far too long,” said Cruz. “It provides some needed affordable housing.”

Five of the apartments, which are located in elegant houses widely spaced apart from each other, will be set aside for formerly homeless families, said Cruz. Ten will be subsidized by the Department of Mental Health for DMH clients — a nod to the Boston State Hospital’s history of housing the mentally ill. The rest will be subsidized by the Boston Housing Authority and go to lower-income families.

Elected officials, community organizers and the developers gathered at the new development on Tuesday to celebrate the completion of the new housing.

Cruz Development plans to start construction this fall on phases two and three of the project, which are expected to bring 54 units of for-sale housing to the neighborhood.

Cruz Development, which was founded in 1948 by Cape Verdean John Cruz, Jr., has thus far employed people of color as over 70 percent of the workforce at the Harvard Commons development, said Dan Cruz.

“When we go into a community, we believe that part of the giveback is not just to provide housing but to provide economic opportunities,” he said.

The development corporation had to construct two new streets to service the development, and as one drives along Snowden Way and Sen. Bolling Circle the homes look like expensive suburban spreads.

“We have had about 250 people thinking these are for-sale homes and asking to buy them,” said Dan Cruz. “That is a lot considering there are no signs saying they are for sale.”

Construction took 18 months, and the development was funded by multiple sources including the city, state and federal governments and the sale of tax credits to corporations.

The redevelopment of the former hospital grounds has moved forward quickly in recent years after the land languished in abandonment for over two decades.

A 62-acre nature sanctuary run by the Audubon Society covers part of the site and MIT has reportedly completed its bio-lab on an estimated 15 acres. The Lena Park Housing Development Corporation is partnering with a developer to build an estimated 500 units of housing, 15 percent of them for Department of Mental Health clients, on another 40 acres, said a State Division of Capital Asset Management spokesman. The Lena Park site would also include some retail and community meeting space, said the spokesman.

Meanwhile, a plan for a high school on the site has reportedly fallen through. The legislation that set aside 20 acres of the site for a high school expired June 30.

“For the 20 acres, we’re looking at some mix of housing and retail and commercial,” said DCAM spokesman Kevin Flanagan. “We could be issuing a new request for proposals as soon as this fall.”