Historical Boston Landmark is set to a revival to help with affordable homes
A long-suffering 112-year-old church in the heart of Boston will soon get a new life because it will be converted into affordable homes.
In Boston, according to one of the most expensive cities in the country with a median catalog price of $ 800,000 for August, according to REALTOR.COM® Data, homeowner is out of reach for many.
It is not better for tenants. The median rent in the Latin Quarter district, where the Holy Sacrament Church is located, is $ 3,200 a month.
But the converted church will offer rent on steep discounts (still to be determined) for those who earn less than the average income of the area.
The redevelopment “adds critically affordable and mixed income of homes to the neighborhood while the historic architecture of the church is honored,” said Boston Mayor Michelle Wu in one rack.
The redevelopment is led by PennrosisA “mission -driven” national developer and was funded by mass development, Citizens Bank and several public authorities.
All 55 apartments in the historic building of 71,000 square foot will be for those who earn less than the average income of the area (AMI), which is $ 115,800 for a household Massachusetts Housing Partnership.
There will be 27 units for those who earn 60%from Ami, 11 for those who earn 30%, 10 for those who earn 80%and 7 for those who earn 50%.
The breakdown of the apartment is 13 two bedrooms, 25 with one bedrooms and 17 studio units. Moreover, there is a community space of 200 people, with “events and versions that are aimed at Afro-Latin Arts and Culture,” said the non-profit organization Hyde Square Task Forcethe former owner of the building.
Six units will be reserved for people who experience homelessness, but it is unclear whether that is a supplement to the 55 units, reports Boston Real Estate Times. (Realtor.com put his hand out to pennrosis.)
The conversion is part of the mayor promise To add 802 units of affordable homes, with 160 of them for seniors.
A former church sees a new life as an apartment building
Blessed sacrament at 361 Center St. in Hyde Square was built in 1913 and has been empty for 20 years.
The conversion is considered a win-win for the city: residents get more affordable housing and the church will be saved from further deterioration. The majority of the outside and the historic facade of the five -storey church will be stored.
The Hyde Square Task Force acquired the property in 2014, with the intention of maintaining the structure. Ownership records shows that The non -profit sold the church In July 2025 on pennrosis for $ 3.1 million.
“Redevelopment is necessary to save the structure designated by Boston orientation points, because the building has been empty for two decades and has largely been unused,” says the non-profit website.
Realtor.com contacted Hyde Square Task Force.
“Located in a transit-oriented, land-rich neighborhood, the Holy Sacrament repair will improve access to high-quality housing in one of the most expensive cities in the country,” said Karmen CheungRegional Vice President of Pennrose, in a statement.
The developer is also behind the Pryde, the first LGBTQ confirming apartments in the city for seniors aged 62 and older. The Pryde was converted from a 120-year-old school.
Financing came from Massdevelopment, the Development Finance Agency and the Landbank of the State, which released a tax -free bond of $ 37,630,000 and from federal house tax credits with a low income (led by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livelable communities), expected to deliver $ 32.8 million).
Convert churches into houses
Churches, many of which are abandoned because the presence has been taken nationwide, can often be picked up for the underlying prices.
In a city like Boston, which not only has a serious home crisis, but also an abundance of old churches, the buildings can be the perfect creative solution for more accommodation in combination with historical preservation.
Other similar conversions in the area are Sacred Heart Church Rectory and school in East Cambridge, Hill Memorial Baptist Church in North Harvard Street in Allston, and St. Aidan’s Church in Brooklineaccording to CBS News.
The former St. Augustine’s Convent will also be converted at 207 E St. in South Boston into 35 units of affordable senior housing.
Landster Zach Bryan Same even the Saint Jean Baptiste Church in Lowell, MA, built to turn into a community center in honor of one of his heroes: Beat generation novelist and poet Jack Kerouac.
But because of many factors, old structures such as churches that can have a milestone status are major challenges to convert into livable spaces.
“Blessed Sacrament is a particularly complicated project because of the challenges of rehabilitating and adjusting a 100+ year -old structure that has been empty for more than two decades,” the developer said on her website.
“The re -use of the building requires a high level of structural and environmental church to tackle multiple problems, including damage to the brickwork, the roof and the structure,” it continued.
The architect based in Boston Dimella Shaffer Heads Up Design. The company is website Says that a large community space from the most important ship will be carved and the dome will be made in the common area of a residents.
The building will also be fossil fuel -free, because it fits from the state Clean energy and climate plan.
“We hope that the approval of the Holy Sacrament as affordable homes determines a new standard for similar historical structures,” said it.
