Community: Roslindale, Boston

Number of units: 4

• • 2 two-bedroom
  • 2 three-bedroom

Status: RFP/Pre-construction

Awards and certifications: Habitat for Humanity International Best in Sustainability Award (2023)

Notable design features:

• • 1 fully accessible ADA unit designed and constructed to provide accessibility for wheelchair users throughout 
  • Adjacent to entrance to Roslindale Urban Wilds
  • Eco-friendly, Passive House approach
  • Historical: Creating a balance between the old and new 
  • Existing house structure preserves the legacy of the site and context
  • Second building on the property is inspired by the former barn on the site 
  • Walk-out basement 

Partners:

• • Adaptiv Architecture and Design (architectural design) 
  • RDH Building Science (consulting services on Passive House design standards and building enclosure) 
  • Bellalta 3 Design (landscape design) 
  • Longfellow Area Neighborhood Association (LANA) 

About this project

The Roslindale project will convert a blighted vacant property into four affordable homes. The single-family home on the site will be renovated and into two condominiums. A new building at rear of the site will include two additional condo units, one of which will be fully ADA-compliant. The new building is designed in the style of a barn that once stood on the site.

The Boston Planning and Development Agency acquired the property in 2020 as part of a broader anti-blight and wetlands dumping cleanup effort in the neighborhood; the BPDA designated Habitat for Humanity of Greater Boston to redevelop the property for affordable housing.

Habitat Greater Boston’s design for the property won the annual Best in Sustainability Award from Habitat for Humanity International for its incorporation of Passive House design elements that will significantly reduce the future homeowners’ utility costs and contribute to the City of Boston’s climate resiliency goals.

This project is funded by an $888,000 Neighborhood Stabilization Program grant and support from our generous donors.