Our approach to affordable housing development:

Since its beginning, ACDC has pioneered innovative models of affordable housing development.  First with our Oak Terrace apartments, which was among the earliest projects in the country to utilize Low Income Housing Tax Credits.  Then later with our Parcel C development now completed and called The Metropolitan, which MassHousing refers to as the most complex and sophisticated affordable housing financing arrangement in Massachusetts.  And most recently with our two-year-long process to secure Parcel 24, one of the Big Dig parcels, for a community-based, affordable housing development.

We ground our developments in Smart Growth principles, which the Massachusetts Office for Commonwealth Development (OCD) outlines as development which: encourages reuse and rehabilitation of existing infrastructure, concentrates development to conserve land, promotes equitable and inclusive planning, restores and enhances the environment, conserves natural resources, expands housing opportunities, provides diverse transportation options, increases job opportunities, fosters sustainable businesses, and is planned on a regional level.  Even as smart growth results in cleaner and more healthy environments for everyone in the community, when applied consistently, it maximizes long term affordability for residents through reduced transportation, utility, and maintenance costs. 

Our Successes to date...

Oak Terrace, ACDC is born:

ACDC was born out the opportunity to forge a new path for affordable housing development, by and for the Chinatown community, on the Oak Terrace site.  ACDC was formed specifically to bid for the right to develop Oak Terrace on land owned by the Boston Redevelopment Authority; the founders intended for ACDC to be a model for community-based, community-controlled development.  Begun in the late 1980’s, the Oak Terrace development was completed in 1995, surviving the deep recession of the late 80’s and early 90’s.  The building is now home to over 300 residents.  While not a LEED certified building, the development is within walking distance of the New England Medical Center subway stop.

The Metropolitan, how we make good on a promise to the community:

Parcel C, now known as The Metropolitan, leveraged our experience in developing Oak Terrace to take on new challenges: the 5% owner-occupancy rate in Chinatown and the increasingly expensive cost of housing in Boston’s downtown core.  ACDC pursued a development strategy that maximized the returns based on location, transit access, and acceptable density.  In essence we utilized the market forces and the site’s urban design context to generate returns supplemented by maximum awards from the typical affordable housing financing and equity subsidies to support 115 mixed-income affordable homes (46% of the total number of housing units), over 50,000 square feet of community retail and office space, a publicly-accessible park, and underground parking. 

The Metropolitan’s condominiums double the owner-occupancy rate of Chinatown from 5% to 10%.  The Metropolitan incorporates profitable, market-rate condominiums to subsidize affordable housing; at a rate far beyond the City of Boston’s own Inclusionary Zoning levels.  ACDC used the very market forces threatening the affordability of Boston’s housing, to create more affordable housing. 

Our Future projects...

Click here to read more about our proposal for Parcel 24.