
CraftsDesign
A 295-unit apartment complex is set to go up on Crafts Street. Boylston Properties
A 295-unit apartment complex is set to go up on Crafts Street built by Boylston Properties
The Newton Zoning Board of Appeals recently voted unanimously to grant a permit to Boylston Properties to turn an industrial site at 78 Crafts Street into a 295-unit apartment complex. And 59 of those units will be “affordable,” priced at 50% of the area median income.
Many affordable units are set at 80% AMI, but Newton has a 50% tier it uses as well, with lower income limits so those units are usually saved for lower-income families.
With 50% AMI pricing, the rent for a three-bedroom will be $1,446 per month. To put that into perspective, the average rent for a three-bedroom home in Newton is more than $4,000 a month.
“This project achieves what no other development in Newton has provided—59 deed-restricted apartments at 50% of AMI—despite the enormous need for affordable homes,” Lynn Weissberg of Engine 6, a nonprofit Newton housing advocacy group, said. “This housing begins to answer the unmet need for city workers and young families to live here. With housing out of reach in Newton, people have been forced to live far from Newton, with commutes of up to two hours per day.”
The housing crisis seen across Massachusetts and the nation is amplified in Newton, with low available housing inventory in a city already in high demand. The median home sale price in Newton has hovered around $1.5 million for a few years now.
The Crafts Street development, which underwent several changes after neighbors pushed back on the project, will also play a small role in the city’s mission to combat climate change. The development will be energy efficient and designated a “Passive House” project, which refers to a set of strict energy efficiency features and other components that can help reduce the city’s greenhouse gas emissions.