Building a public-private model for preserving affordable housing

Bunker Hill Housing Redevelopment

Created with developer Leggat McCall Properties, our context sensitive master planning, architecture, and interior design services are transforming the Boston Housing Authority’s (BHA) Bunker Hill Apartments into a sustainable, mixed-income community. Developed in collaboration with the BHA and the Charlestown Residents Alliance (CRA), the plan provides 15 new buildings with 2,699 units of housing, 50,000 square feet of retail space, a new community center, and 7 acres of open space.

Our Architecture team developed design strategies for the redevelopment that reference the historic character of Charlestown, introducing a contemporary look and feel, and reknitting an area long divided by income and physical barriers. Its pedestrian friendly streetscapes, scale, and public realm invites the broader community to share new parks and amenities, supporting efforts to break down social barriers and create a vibrant new community for all of Charlestown.

Emphasizing energy efficiency, affordability, and resiliency against rising sea waters, all the buildings are committed to passive house design standards with Building M already achieving certification. Our designs for the first two buildings incorporate a hybrid structural system of prefabricated light gauge metal framing and mass-timber, reducing cost and the overall construction schedule. Highly efficient exterior wall systems, coupled with all-electric heating and cooling systems are estimated to reduce carbon emissions by 3,800 tons annually, and all buildings will include provisions for clean energy photovoltaics and battery storage systems.