Boston’s planning board on Oct. 15, 2026, approved moving forward with temporary property tax abatements for four stalled, previously approved housing developments in Charlestown, Allston and Brighton. The city estimates the Boston housing tax abatements at about $31.5 million in total temporary relief, or roughly $22,500 per unit, to help start construction on about 1,400 homes within the next year.
Boston housing tax abatements at a glance
- Size: about $31.5 million in temporary tax relief across four projects, per the Boston Planning Department.
- Homes: about 1,400, including at least 185 income-restricted units.
- Jobs: an estimated 1,582, according to the city.
- Timeline: proposed Sept. 14; 30-day public comment period; approved by the Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA) board on Oct. 15 to move into formal negotiations. Developers must begin construction within the agreed window, which Bisnow reported as 12 to 15 months.
- Structure: tax increases are deferred, not forgiven. The city says it expects no net revenue loss, and developers keep paying at least their current tax bills.
The four projects
The city’s September announcement lists these four developments, all previously approved by the BPDA board:
- One Mystic Avenue, Charlestown: 408 homes, including 45 income-restricted units, in a 16-story building across from Sullivan Square station, with a $14 million Inclusionary Development Policy (IDP) contribution.
- 22-24 Pratt Street, Allston: a 16-story building with 318 homes, including 27 income-restricted units, and an $8.1 million IDP contribution.
- 83 Leo M. Birmingham Parkway, Brighton: 333 homes, including 52 income-restricted units, on a former radio station site.
- Allston Yards Building D, Allston: 341 homes, including 61 income-restricted units, plus retail and entertainment space.
Unit counts differ slightly by source. Bisnow’s account of the Oct. 15 meeting listed 424 units at One Mystic Avenue and 316 at Pratt Street, and named the developers as Fulcrum Global Investors, Hines, Nordblom Co. and New England Development. The figures above are the city’s.
The Boston Report first covered the proposal in September and October, in our report on the mayor’s use of BPDA tax powers. This story covers the board’s approval and what comes next.
Why the city says the projects stalled
According to a Planning Department presentation described by Bisnow, Boston has seen about three projects of more than 100 units break ground per year over the last four years, and no project with more than 300 units has started construction in that period. City officials pointed to rising costs: rents have risen 35% since 2015, compared with a 38% increase in construction costs and a 133% jump in mortgage interest payments, the presentation said.
Federal data show continued price pressure in the region. The Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index for the Boston-Cambridge-Newton area stood at 362.575 in September 2026, about 3.8% higher than a year earlier. Our explainer on why Boston housing is so expensive looks at the longer-term causes.
How the deferral works
Taxes would stay near current levels during construction, then rise in steps once a building is finished and its assessed value jumps. In its application, the One Mystic Avenue team proposed a five-year deferral for the 227-unit rental portion, paying the pre-construction baseline plus 2.5% a year through the fifth year after completion, Bisnow reported. The application, signed by Fulcrum CEO Scott Brown, said that without temporary relief “the project cannot support the capital required to commence construction on commercially reasonable terms.”
Reactions
Mayor Michelle Wu said in September that the abatements would “help put shovels in the ground within the next year.” BPDA board member Matt O’Malley said at the meeting that targeted relief “is not a giveaway. It’s an investment,” according to Bisnow.
Others were more cautious. Reuben Kantor, a senior policy adviser for the Planning Department, called it a “very modest tax relief offer” that will not work for every project and said many of the roughly 40 developers the city spoke with indicated they would need two to four times as much relief, Bisnow reported. Aeron Hodges, a principal at Stantec Architecture who works with three of the four teams, said at a Bisnow event that developers were “pretty uncertain” how much difference the abatements would make, since construction financing remains difficult. Kantor said 10 to 12 more developers have expressed interest.
Related development news
Also on Oct. 15, the Planning Department announced that new zoning for Hyde Park’s Cleary Square was advancing, which we covered in our Cleary Square rezoning story. For more on Boston real estate, deals and jobs, visit the Boston Business & Economy hub.
Photo: The former Beacon Park Yard area in Allston, by ArnoldReinhold, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sources
- Boston Planning Department, Sept. 14, 2026: dollar total, per-unit figure, projects, unit counts, jobs estimate, no net revenue loss, mayor’s quote.
- Bisnow, Oct. 16, 2026: board vote, developers, cost presentation, application details, meeting quotes.
- BLS consumer price index, Boston area: September 2026 index level and annual change (series CUURS11ASA0).
Additional sources
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