Council hearing on $110 million housing accelerator fund spotlights Bunker Hill redevelopment, MassHousing partnership and homeownership pilot

Boston City Council Committee on Ways and Means Chair Councilor Brian Worrell convened a public hearing on Jan. 14, 2025, on docket 0108, a proposed appropriation of $110,000,000 to launch a Housing Accelerator Fund intended to speed housing production by lowering the cost of capital for projects across the city.

The proposal would pair the city’s funds with a state “momentum” fund managed by MassHousing and use public equity and lower-cost senior debt to bridge financing gaps on projects that officials say are otherwise “stuck.” Devon Cork, deputy chief of the Planning Department, told the committee the city’s investment would take “an equity ownership position in private market housing,” offering a lower financial return than private investors to make projects feasible.

Why it matters: City officials say rising construction costs and high interest rates have pushed many otherwise ready projects out of reach. The administration estimates the fund can unlock mixed-income and affordable housing, preserve deeply affordable replacement units at Boston Housing Authority (BHA) developments and support a pilot to restart stalled homeownership construction.

How the fund would work and governance

City officials described a two-part technical structure for the rental side: (1) a public equity stake that would reduce the private-equity share of a development (staff described a target public equity share near 10% of construction cost) and (2) access to a lower-cost Freddie Mac-backed senior loan that would shave senior-debt rates. Reuben Kantor, senior policy adviser in the Planning Department, said the combined changes could turn projects that are “a little off from feasibility to feasible.”

Administration witnesses said the city…