84-unit apartment complex to be ‘fully affordable’

The owners of the Dot Block housing development on Dorchester Avenue will get an infusion of $5 million from the city of Boston to help them build-out their second phase, a new, five-story, 84-unit apartment building along Hancock Street. In a departure from earlier plans, the building will include fewer units— it was permitted for 98— but all of them will be marketed as “affordable” under a revised made public on Wednesday.

The news was part of a larger announcement from city officials touting Mayor Wu’s commitment to put $64.2 million to preserve existing and create new “income-restricted” housing units— 637 in total— across the city.

The city award— drawn from funds already set aside to stabilize and build new affordable housing— will make it possible to offer “deeper levels of affordability than would otherwise be possible,” according to the Dot Block owners, Wintergold LLC and their development partner, Samuels & Associates. The companies did not offer a timeline for the next phase of construction.

Once built, the new Hancock Street building will face the existing Dot Block complex, which opened in summer 2023. The first-phase includes 243 apartment units and two currently ground-level retail spaces along Dot Ave. Two businesses— Sweet Teez bakery and a separate diner — are expected to open later in 2025.

In a statement, the founder and Chairman of Samuels & Associates, thanked the mayor and city officials for their “creative partnership and for this funding award – a key first step in moving the remainder of Dot Block forward.”

Samuels added: The Dot Block project represents an important opportunity to produce new shovel-ready affordable housing units… We look forward to working with state and federal officials on identifying other resources necessary to launch construction and advance this important project.”

The development team attributed the reduction in unit count to “larger units that are more suitable for families.” Samuels & Associates said it will contribute $5 million in “private subsidy to support the additional affordable housing.”

Dot Block is one of the largest new mixed-use developments built in this part of the city in decades. Planning for the site began in 2015. When the most recent iteration of the plans was approved by city officials in 2019, they called for 488 total units in four buildings on a nearly 4-acre campus bounded by Dot Ave, Hancock Street, Pleasant Street, and Greenmount Street.

City officials announced their plans for the awards on Jan. 22 in Allston-Brighton, where four projects will get city funds. Another Dorchester project that will receive funds is Civico Development’s plan to build 33 affordable condo units above a new Uphams Corner library branch planned at 555-559 Columbia Rd. That project will get a total of $4.95 million from city sources.

In Mattapan, 40 new affordable home units planned in the Olmsted Village neighborhood will also receive city funds. Funds will be made available from a blend of sources, including the Mayor’s Office of Housing, the Community Preservation Fund, and the Neighborhood Housing Fund. Federal block grants and linkage contributions from other developments are part of the funding mix.

“By supporting these 12 developments, we are not just creating housing—we are strengthening neighborhoods, preventing displacement, and ensuring that residents have the stability they need to thrive,” said Sheila A. Dillon, Boston’s chief of Housing. These funds build on the historic investments in housing made by the Wu administration over the last three years, reflecting our continued commitment to addressing Boston’s housing challenges head-on.”