Reprinted from Project Reference File, Volume 22, #17. published by ULI-the Urban Land Institute, VOLUME 22 NUMBER 17 625 Indiana Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. THE URBAN LAND INSTITUTE PROJECT REFERENCE FILE RESIDENTIAL HARBOR POINT BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS PROJECT TYPE A 45 acre community created by redeveloping the largest federal public housing project in New England. The community is jointly owned and operated by a private development team and the community's residents. One-third of the 1,283 units are reserved for low-income families. Harbor Point is located on the Boston Harbor with excellent views of the Boston skyline. This was the first federal housing project to be transferred toaprivate SPECIAL FEATURES developer for mixed-income housing. • Joint venture between pri- vate developer and tenant GENERAL DESCRIPTION they had to the increasing land val- organization ues on the peninsula. In 1978, the • On-site private social service Harbor Point, a 1,238-unit mixed- residents of Columbia Point joined programs income rental community on Bos- with architects, private developers, • Waterfront park and upscale ton's waterfront, was redeveloped and housing officials to begin the amenities from Columbia Point, a 1,500-unit long process to transform the area • Mixture of market-rate and public housing project built in the into a strong community. affordable housing early 1950s. The community is now Amenities now include parks, up- owned and operated jointly by the scale recreational facilities, neighbor- Harbor Point Community Task hood play areas, free parking, and OWNEtyDEVELOPER Force (HPCTF) and Peninsula Part- shuttle service to nearby public ners, whose managing general part- transit. Resident services, provided A partnership of: ner is Corcoran, Mullins, Jennison, on site by private firms, include in- Corcoran, Mullins, Jennison, Inc. Inc. (CMJ). HPCTF is a nonprofit tervention programs, tutoring, job 143 Wood Road organization with an 11-member and education referrals, outreach Braintree, Massachusetts 02184 board elected by Harbor Point resi- programs, health center, youth cen- 617-356-3100 dents. ter, daycare services, and services The Columbia Point public hous- for the elderly. These services are Harbor Point Community ing project opened in 1954. By the supported in part by the Harbor Task Force 1960s, the project was deteriorating Point operating budget. The part- Dorchester, Massachusetts physically and serious social prob- nership also maintains and repairs 617-288-9766 lems existed. In 1984, when Penin- streets and is responsible for snow Cruz Construction Company sula Partners took over the manage- removal. Security provided by pri- Boston, Massachusetts ment of Columbia Point, only vate officers with the power to make 617-445-8117 350—predominantly minority- arrests has made this one of the saf- Keen Development Corporation families remained. Columbia Point est neighborhoods in Boston. Cambridge, Massachusetts was considered so dangerous that 617-661-9100 ambulance crews and fire fighters SITE would not enter without police escorts. Residents were ashamed to Harbor Point is located on the admit where they lived, frustrated Columbia Point peninsula, which is by earlier attempts at renovation, also home to several large institu- and fearful of losing what housing tions, including the Boston campus OCTOBER-DECEMBER 1992 and adjoining neighborhoods were all skeptical about the possibility of success. Columbia Point was so de- teriorated that it was hard to believe that market-rate apartments could ever be rented there. The redevelopment team worked closely with key public agencies to develop strategies to quickly move the project through the permitting process. The project required 35 separate approvals. Contentious is- sues included everything from the amount of retail to the size of the bricks on the new buildings. The permit to fill part of the Dorchester Bay to enlarge the park area on the east end and the delineation of the line between the park and Harbor Point also required lengthy Harbor Point, only ten minutes by car from downtown, is organized around a new grid of streets that lie at a 45-degree angle to the waterfront. negotiations. PLANNING/DESIGN of the University of Massachusetts, experience and commitment to The development team, particu- the Boston Globe, the Kennedy mixed-income developments led to larly the HPCTF, was intent on de- Library, and the Bank of Boston. The the selection of his firm, Corcoran, stroying the Columbia Point image. peninsula workers and residents are Mullins, Jennison, Inc., as the gen- The yellow brick exteriors, flat roofs, separated from each other by an in- eral managing partner of the private uniform heights, and building faces complete street network and a for- development team. Joan Goody's were all reworked. The goal was to tress mentality that originated when firm, Goody, Clancy, & Associates, make the buildings and streets more the area was developed. Inc., was hired as site planner and closely follow the design of the sur- Harbor Point, the only residential one of the two project architects. rounding Boston neighborhoods— area on the Columbia Point penin- The newly named Harbor Point and thus remove the stigma of pub- sula, is located on 45 acres adjacent Community Task Force, the devel- lic housing. to a six-acre waterfront park. The opment partnership, and the archi- Beyond these considerations, the site was first used as a landfill and tects worked to design a neighbor- old site design provided no sense of then as a prisoner-of-war camp in hood that would be attractive and the water's edge or views of the World War II. The Bayside Expo safe and would emphasize the water- Boston skyline. The decision to reno- Center is located immediately west front. During the long and difficult vate or demolish the original build- of Harbor Point, and two public process, the media, many residents, ings was driven by the need to open schools are located to the south. A largely vacant area lies to the east. A waste water pumping station, built in 1883, is the only structure in this otherwise vacant area. The Kennedy Library is located farther to the east. DEVELOPMENT PROCESS The redevelopment of Columbia Point largely began with the resi- dents' dissatisfaction. The Colum- bia Point Community Task Force (CPCTF) exerted considerable pres- sure on the Boston Housing Author- ity and City Hall. In 1981, CPCTF signed a memorandum of agree- ment outlining conditions for rede- velopment of the project. Joseph E. Corcoran, a local developer who had grown up in the adjacent Dor- chester area, teamed up with Joan Goody, an architect and planner, to One-third of the original buildings were retained and 43 buildings— ranging from support CPCTF's work. Corcoran's two-story townhomes to seven-story apartment buildings—were constructed. up the site and to form a more logi- cal street system. The new buildings are a mix of three-story townhomes, and new five-, six-, and seven-story apartment buildings. Several considerations were es- sential to design. For example, resi- dents wanted play areas within sight of their homes. Townhouses with individual entrances for the family units not only provided resi- dents with a sense of ownership but also with a sense of increased secu- rity by limiting the number of fami- lies using a single entrance. Locating parking spaces close to each unit was important to residents (who had experienced considerable auto vandalism) and to increasing the level of activity on the streets. MANAGEMENT The Harbor Point clubhouse, with two outdoor pools and a fitness center, is located next to a six-acre waterfront park. Tennis courts are located in the mall area. CM] took over management of Columbia Point early on to gain the trust of the remaining residents. A lished to guide the planning, con- the HPCTF. Rule enforcement is governing board, composed of two struction, and day-to-day operations tough because residents want to as- CMJ representatives and two HP- of Harbor Point. The board enforces sure that the conditions that led to CTF representatives, was estab- the community rules developed by Columbia Point's decline will not PROJECT DATA LAND USE INFORMATION RESIDENTIAL INFORMATION Site Area: 1,952,047 square feet (44.8 acres) Range Floor Area Number of Units of Rental Gross Building Area (GBA) before Renovation: 1,100,000 (Square Feet) Market Low Income Prices1 square feet Cross Building Area (GBA) after Renovation: 1,703,975 1 Bedroom . 625-670 308 63 $800-930 square feet 2 Bedroom . 815-980 531 122 $930-1,050 Residential: 1,652,751 square feet 3 Bedroom .1,250-1,320 42 141 $1,100 Retail: 5,093 square feet 4 Bedroom . 1,650 2 57 $1,200 Health center: 12,000 square feet 5 Bedroom .1,770-1,880 0 13 NA Community building/clubhouse: 34,131 square feet 6 Bedroom . 1,950 0 4 NA Residential Units before Renovation: 1,500 ECONOMIC INFORMATION Residential Units after Renovation: 1,283 New low-rise units: 214 Development Costs: Demolition $ 5,850,000 New mid-rise units: 760 Building construction 106,850,000 Residential rehabilitation: 309 Site work/landscaping 12,740,000 Gross Density: 28.6 units per acre Earthwork/piles 7,900,000 Total Parking Spaces before Renovation: 1,150 General conditions/bonds 9,535,000 Total Parking Spaces after Renovation: 1,150 Surveys, permits, testing 3,155,000 Architecture, engineering 5,350,000 Construction interest 29,655,000 Taxes/insurance 1,490,000 LAND USE PLAN Financing fees 2,065,000 Legal/title 2,050,000 Acres Percent of Site Relocation/social services 3,495,000 Marketing 2,340,000 Buildings 10 22% Operating reserve account 57,525,000 Driveways and parking 15 Total $250,000,000 Landscaped and recreational areas 20 44 Total .