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HOF advisory board approves $125,608 for repairs at Wood Street Commons
Summary
The advisory board awarded $125,608 in demonstration funds to the Residences at Wood Street to replace a vertical platform lift, repair two showers and upgrade an HVAC unit at Wood Street Commons, a low-income single-room-occupancy building. The building’s executive director recused himself from the vote and board members recorded conflicts.
The Housing Opportunity Fund advisory board approved $125,608 in demonstration funding on May 6 for the Residences at Wood Street to address emergent maintenance at Wood Street Commons, a single-room-occupancy building that provides low-income housing.
Kevin Hanley, executive director of the Residences at Wood Street, described the request to the board: funding would replace a vertical platform lift in the residential lobby, cover a change order stemming from demolition and deterioration discovered while replacing two showers on upper floors, and replace an aged HVAC unit that serves the lobby and front-desk area. Hanley told the board the building contains about 259 units in total and that just under 210 units were currently occupied; he said more than 70 residents in the building reported having no income and that the building serves a population that includes people exiting homelessness, medical‑respite clients and individuals involved with criminal‑justice programs. Hanley said he had a conflict and would not vote on the request.
Hanley and URA staff described the shower work as having generated a more-than-$40,000 change order after demolition revealed deterioration in stub walls and leaking supply lines. Board questions covered the lift’s operational importance and the number of residents who rely on it; staff said a separate lift on the commercial side of the building was not designed to handle the same traffic or load from residential operations.
URA staff noted the advisory board had $126,000 remaining in the demonstration/emergency budget line and that this request would largely exhaust those funds. After discussion, a motion to approve the $125,608 request passed. The record notes conflicts identified for the executive director (who did not vote) and two advisory board members; recorded abstentions/conflicts were acknowledged before the vote and the board registered multiple ayes with no opposition recorded on the transcript.
Board members asked the Residences at Wood Street to keep the advisory board updated on the PHFA financing closing and any changes to the capital plan that could affect larger planned repairs.
The board also postponed consideration of another large application that exceeded available demonstration funding and discussed outreach plans for the HOF 2026 allocation‑plan survey, which opens May 1 and runs through July 31.
