Brockton Housing Authority outlines Campello redevelopment, move to Section 8 model and tenant safety steps

Thomas Thiebaud, executive director of the Brockton Housing Authority (BHA), told the Finance Committee the authority’s 2024 annual report emphasizes “vibrant and impactful” work and outlines a three-phase redevelopment of the Campello high-rise complex that the authority says will replace an aging building and produce new affordable units under project-based Section 8.

Why it matters: The Campello redevelopment is the BHA’s largest capital project and reshapes how funding and operating subsidies come to housing in Brockton. The authority described a multimillion-dollar, phased plan that it says will bring federal operating subsidy dollars and private investment to the city and replace obsolete, deteriorated public-housing stock.

Thiebaud said the BHA is a designated Moving to Work agency and has used that flexibility for pilot programs and partnerships. He reported MassHousing approved the loan and tax-credit allocation for phase 1 on Sept. 9; phase 1 is planned at the former Self-Help building at 1362 Main Street and is expected to close in December with construction beginning in January. Thiebaud said phase 1 will include about 144 units (143 one-bedroom and one two-bedroom in his description) in a seven-story building and that Santander is a tax-credit investor. "It will be a 144 units... We expect to close in December and break ground in January," Thiebaud said.

Thiebaud described the financing model: the authority will build tax-credit properties, lease the ground to an investor who uses tax credits for 15 years, and repurchase the property at the end of the credit period; the developments will be managed by the BHA under project-based Section 8, which Thiebaud said produces larger federal operating subsidies than the state public-housing model. He said the shift will bring about $5 million a year in federal operating funds to Brockton in the early years of the program.

Committee members asked about resident impact and operations. Thiebaud said the Campello plan aims to move existing residents once into the new building rather than scatter them, reducing disruption. He also said the authority wants to use replacement units from the Campello project to federalize state developments (Kennedy Drive, Rainbow Terrace) and rebuild those sites to modern standards.

Thiebaud and councilors discussed wait lists and tenant safety. He said elderly applicants for federal elderly housing currently face waits of about two to three years; he said many applicants on family lists are no longer eligible because they are now over income. Councilors raised repeated tenant-safety concerns at Bel Air Tower (269 units), where callers reported harassment and a perception of reduced police presence. Thiebaud said two problematic units are under eviction and that the housing authority is working with police, tenant presidents and a nighttime security coordinator; he also urged re-establishing community policing approaches that put officers in the buildings.

On operations and accountability, the housing authority said it is pursuing external review and has hired outside counsel for complex matters elsewhere; the authority noted it has been recognized by HUD and participates in multiple Moving to Work initiatives.

The committee voted to recommend the BHA presentation resolution favorably to the full council. The motion passed; vote counts were not specified in the transcript.