Historic YWCA Building Garners Support in Boston's Wealthiest Neighborhood

140 Clarendon brings 210 units of affordable housing to one of Boston's wealthiest neighborhoods through the rehabilitation of the historic YWCA building. Photo credit: Beacon Communities Development

Situated in Back Bay — one of Boston's wealthiest neighborhoods — is the historic YW Boston building, built by America's first Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA). Opened in the 1920s, the building housed educational, recreational, and cultural resources for Boston residents. From 2003 to 2006, the YWCA expanded its services by renovating the building to include a mix of affordable units for long-term and short-term housing. In 2020, after COVID-19 prevented a hospitality group from acquiring the building, Beacon Communities Development, a longtime developer of affordable housing, saw an opportunity to preserve the building and its affordable housing. In partnership with the Mount Vernon Company and with support from city officials, Beacon Communities redeveloped the building as 140 Clarendon, a 210-unit affordable housing development serving low-income households and individuals exiting homelessness. The project received city funding from the mayor's office in 2021 and opened in 2023.

Coordinated Redevelopment Process

Before its redevelopment into 140 Clarendon, the 13-story building housed a budget hotel with 66 units, a 118-unit mixed-income apartment complex, and offices for cultural and educational organizations. The redevelopment transformed the residential space into 210 units of permanent affordable housing. The project's studio and one-bedroom apartments include 111 permanent supportive housing (PSH) units for individuals who previously experienced homelessness and 99 units for families earning no more than 50 percent of the area median income (AMI). Darcy Jameson, vice president of development at Beacon Communities, states that the project-based Section 8 subsidies from the Boston Housing Authority (BHA) that cover all the units were crucial to the project's success. Because the development is in the city's expensive Back Bay neighborhood, BHA implemented Small Area Fair Market Rents, which help residents access higher-opportunity neighborhoods by establishing rent subsidies higher than those allowed under standard Fair Market Rents.

More than half of the apartments at the affordable housing development are fully furnished, permanent supportive housing units for individuals who previously experienced homelessness. Photo credit: Andy Ryan

Beacon Communities partnered with the city of Boston's Continuum of Care and Pine Street Inn, the largest homeless services provider in New England, to serve residents of the PSH units. To align the housing strategy with the city's coordinated access goals, Boston's Continuum of Care coordinated with BHA to establish the income cap at 30 percent of AMI. This collaboration helped prioritize the most vulnerable and chronically homeless individuals when leasing the units. At the same time, the developer and Pine Street Inn worked closely to determine the best strategy to help residents transition to stable housing. Rather than preserve the single-room occupancy units, which lacked bathrooms and kitchens, the developer converted these rooms to studio and one-bedroom apartments. Because new residents of 140 Clarendon do not typically own furniture, all PSH units are fully furnished to offer them a comfortable transition to being housed. Pine Street Inn supports these units with social services and case management.

The site's transformation also required case management and resident support services for the approximately 60 households that remained in the building during the construction phase. This included careful coordination in moving residents within the building as needed. Because of the fragility of many residents and the introduction of a new management company, the development team needed to consistently communicate with residents and ensure their smooth transition from their temporary units to their renovated apartments. Jameson cautions that stakeholders should not "underestimate the resources that it takes at all levels to support the residents, do the real estate, and get things done [...] on time and on budget."

Services and Amenities

140 Clarendon offers numerous amenities to build community and services that support residents' well-being. Each floor has a resident lounge that is equipped with cooking facilities, televisions, tables, and seating areas that encourage social gatherings. Other amenities include a fitness center, community room, and a computer learning center. The updated floorplan includes management offices for the case managers and resident services coordinator (RSC). The RSC organizes social events and connects residents with rent and food assistance. The renovated building also includes an onsite wellness office, which was added following community feedback during sessions with residents and planning staff from the city of Boston. The RSC uses the wellness office to coordinate visits from nurses to address health concerns. As a transit-oriented development, 140 Clarendon provides residents with convenient access to neighborhood resources, including medical care, educational facilities, and employment opportunities.

All the nonresidential organizations wanting to stay in the building following the renovation were able to remain. Beacon Communities renewed leases with Snowden International School and the Lyric Stage Company of Boston, a decision that preserves the building's legacy as a home for area cultural and educational institutions. Commercial tenants include a restaurant and a dry cleaner. The YWCA offices, originally spread across several floors, were consolidated in a newly dedicated ground-floor suite. Residents of 140 Clarendon actively engage with the nonprofit tenants. Some residents, for example, serve as volunteer ushers at the theater.

Financing for Long-term Security

The success of the 140 Clarendon project hinged on strategic partnerships that helped create a robust capital stack. BHA executed a 20-year Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) contract that allowed Beacon Communities to integrate resident services into the operating budget — a policy choice that offered long-term financial security. Jameson highlights the uniqueness of this policy, stating, "One of the key barriers to creating housing for people experiencing homelessness is [that] you can figure out the money for the real estate but figuring out how to come up with the resources that you're going to need to support the services year in and year out is challenging." The HAP contract offered other lenders certainty in their investment. Other funders included the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development, MassHousing, and the city of Boston's Department of Neighborhood Development. Bank of America supplied more than $40 million in federal low-income tax credit and historic tax credit equity, and the state provided more than $23 million in Low-Income Housing Tax Credit equity.

City Leadership and Community Support

Beacon Communities' acquisition of the historic building included renewed leases for cultural anchor institutions such as the Lyric Stage Company of Boston, ensuring the theater's continued presence. Photo credit: Andy Ryan

Local leadership was instrumental in generating community buy-in for the project. The city's planning staff assured the larger community that the mayor and chief of housing fully supported the project. The city not only was present during the initial community meetings but also presented the initiative as a housing priority and introduced Beacon Communities and Pine Street Inn as reputable partners possessing the necessary expertise to ensure the project's success.

Aside from initial security concerns from neighbors, which the developer mitigated by hiring two trained security staff for 24/7 coverage and incident deescalation, the neighborhood largely welcomed the project. Many community members recognized that several of the new tenants were previously unhoused individuals already living in the area. Jameson noted that the prevailing sentiment in the community was a preference for these individuals to live in a building where they could have their needs addressed and be supported by an attentive and caring community.