Nonprofit Developer Buys Mattapan Site for 105-Unit Affordable Project

The Planning Office for Urban Affairs, a nonprofit housing developer affiliated with the Archdiocese of Boston, and its partner JGE Development bought a 1.63-acre site at 1590 Blue Hill Ave. in the Mattapan Square business district for $8.7M, according to Colliers. The property was previously owned by the McKeen family, which ran an auto repair business on the parcel beginning in 1976.

POUA has already secured city approvals for a six-story building with 105 affordable housing units. The project falls under Boston's Squares + Streets zoning district, which is designed to encourage multifamily housing, higher density and mixed neighborhood uses. Colliers' Jeanne Pinado advised the McKeen family during the roughly two years the property was marketed for sale.

The deal is a clear example of a nonprofit developer moving a zoned, approved site into construction-ready hands in a neighborhood undergoing revitalization.

Practical implication: approved Squares + Streets sites in Boston remain attractive to affordable developers, and entitled parcels can trade at prices that reflect the completed approval path.