Illustration of brick low-rise public housing with trees and rain gardens, representing the Fairmount Apartments Hyde Park modernization

Fairmount Apartments Hyde Park: $16M Modernization Funded

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The Fairmount Apartments in Hyde Park will receive more than $16 million in city, state and federal money for a first phase of renovations, Mayor Michelle Wu’s office announced on Oct. 14, 2026. The Boston Housing Authority (BHA) property, built in 1951, holds more than 200 units of state public housing and is the latest BHA community lined up for a major overhaul.

The announcement did not include a construction start date, a completion date or a per-unit cost. The BHA said it is launching a master planning process for the whole site while the first phase of physical work begins, so the scope and timing of later phases are still to be set.

Where the $16 Million for Fairmount Comes From

Three sources make up most of the package, according to the city:

  • a $10 million High Leverage Asset Preservation Program (HILAPP) grant from the state Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC);
  • $5 million in City of Boston capital funding; and
  • $1 million in federal Community Project Funding secured by U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley and Sens. Edward Markey and Elizabeth Warren.

The Boston Public Health Commission has also granted money for open space improvements and community gardens at the site. The city did not give a dollar figure for that grant.

State Housing Secretary Juana Matias credited the Affordable Homes Act, signed by Gov. Maura Healey, with expanding the money her office can put into public housing repairs. “We’re not just building new housing, but investing in the homes we already have and the people who live in them,” Matias said in the city’s release.

What the First Phase of Upgrades Includes

The opening round of work focuses on apartment interiors and building systems. According to the city and the BHA, the phase will:

  • modernize unit interiors;
  • make 5% of apartments fully accessible;
  • electrify heating and hot water systems and add cooling;
  • improve building envelopes; and
  • install green stormwater infrastructure.

A separate federal investment secured by the state’s congressional delegation will support flood mitigation at affordable housing developments, including BHA properties. The city and the BHA have been working on multi-site stormwater projects serving Fairmount as well as the Gallivan and Franklin Field developments. That money will pay for a community garden and new rain gardens meant to cut stormwater pollution and prevent flooding. Through the city’s PowerCorps program, local residents will be trained to build and maintain the rain gardens while earning green career credentials.

The neighborhood-scale stormwater work is separate from the citywide shoreline effort covered in our report on the Boston coastal flood protection plan, which won City Council backing this week.

Fairmount and Boston’s Housing Strategy

Wu framed the project as preservation work that runs alongside new construction. “Over the last five years, Boston has built nearly 16,000 new units of housing throughout our neighborhoods. In order to make our city a home for everyone, we must also preserve and modernize the affordable homes that already exist,” she said.

The BHA is the largest housing provider in Boston and runs both public housing and the Section 8 rental assistance program. Administrator Kenzie Bok said the funding means “Fairmount will remain a welcoming place for families to call Hyde Park home for decades to come.”

The announcement comes as City Hall works on several housing tracks at once. The administration recently used planning-agency powers to offer housing tax incentives on about 1,400 units, and the City Council has endorsed a state bill that would give tenants a right of first refusal when their buildings are sold.

What Officials Said and What Comes Next

The event at the Fairmount basketball court on Bow Street brought together Wu, Pressley, Matias, state Rep. Rob Consalvo and Bok. Pressley said residents of the Massachusetts 7th Congressional District “deserve a safe, stable place to call home, but also one that reflects modern-day needs in accessibility, resiliency, and sustainability,” and called the funding “a reflection of community input realized.”

Consalvo said the development is “literally blocks away from my home here in Hyde Park.” District 5 Councilor Enrique Pepén, who chairs the council’s Housing Committee and said he grew up in public housing, called the money “exactly the kind of commitment our residents deserve.” Councilor Ruthzee Louijeune said she looks forward to “the lasting impact these improvements will have on Fairmount residents.”

The next concrete step is on the design side. A BHA legal notice, re-run since early September, seeks a designer for master planning, design and construction administration covering 202 public housing units at Fairmount. The notice lists a $95,000 Phase I fee, with the Phase II fee to be negotiated, and applications are due through the state’s Designer Selection Network by 2 p.m. on Oct. 28, 2026. The city has not yet published a schedule for resident meetings or for when tenants will see work begin inside their apartments.

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