City officials last week (Dec. 7) took in words of support for and opposition to a proposal to convert the Comfort Inn at 900 Morrissey Blvd. into permanent supportive housing for formerly homeless people.

While some 270 residents, city officials, and people associated with one side or the other were tuned in at the height of the meeting, just over a dozen individuals spoke up to voice support for the initiative, while twice that number joined to express skepticism about or outright opposition to the project.

Pine Street Inn and The Community Builders, two nonprofits, are behind the plan to revamp the 131-room hostelry into 104 studio apartments, with kitchenettes and bathrooms. The complex would have security 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with case managers working with the tenants.

The site is surrounded by a Stop & Shop, the Murphy K-8 School, a Dunkin’, a Jiffy Lube, Extra Space Storage, and an auto service shop. Critics of the project have noted its proximity to the Murphy School, saying they had heightened concerns when, just a day before the meeting, a teacher discovered a person experiencing homelessness in a classroom. The person ran out of the school and Murphy officials contacted police.

Opponents of the proposal plan a protest outside the Comfort Inn on Saturday, Dec. 17, at 11 a.m.

The proposal remains under review by the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA), which hosted the Dec. 7 meeting. The public comment period ends Jan. 6.

The meeting was the fourth on the proposal since its announcement in August. A community meeting, led by Pine Street, was held on Zoom, followed by in-person meetings involving local civic associations in September and October.

At last week’s meeting, Arthur Jemison, the city’s chief of planning and head of the BPDA, was among the people who were listening in at some point. Mayor Wu’s housing chief, Sheila Dillon, stayed on or the entire meeting, which featured representatives from Pine Street Inn and The Community Builders (TCB) answering questions from residents

Pine Street Inn is the owner or manager of 637 units of permanent supportive housing, and 251 units under development across the city.

The complex will offer a shuttle bus for people who need to get to the Stop & Shop, the MBTA, and medical appointments and it will have 33 parking spaces, more than needed, according to proponents, because people moving out of homelessness rarely have a car. The average age of a tenant will be 57, the median age will be older, at 65.

Responding to a question about limiting the building to only seniors, Andy Waxman, TCB’s regional vice president for real estate development, said, “It is something we are open to considering further, but, again, we believe the bulk of the people will be older anyway. It skews older.”

He added that proponents are not trying to hide that the people living in the complex will have mental health or addiction issues. Studies have shown permanent housing, coupled with support services such as the ones proposed for 900 Morrissey, are a “powerful” combination, according to Waxman.

“If they are in permanent housing and there is strong support with the positive ratio of case managers to residents, that has been shown to improve outcomes,” he said.

The proponents were largely greeted with skepticism. Sara Lapomarda, who said she lives close to 900 Morrissey, asked about the number of caseworkers and security levels, and pointed to the incident at the Murphy School. “I’m 500 feet from this place and those are my concerns and questions,” she said.

Lyndia Downie, Pine Street Inn’s president and executive director, said the inn would have case managers assigned to the building, and they plan to use a security firm, with a front desk. If a tenant violates the lease, that would come up through case management, she added. “It depends on what it is.”

Others were more blunt about their concerns or opposition. Local resident Christopher Kerr pointed to used needles found nearby. “Pine Street is just dumping these people in there. That’s not the way it should be,” he said, adding, “Build it somewhere else.”

Another resident, Brendan Conlon, said the amount of drug activity and homelessness in the area has become “unbearable.” “It’s just not a good fit for the neighborhood,” he said, pointing to the homeless man found at the Murphy. “It’s just too close to comfort.”

But others voiced support for the proposal, including Rev. Josh Wilson, Laney Strange, and Denise Ellis-Hibbett, who said she is a lifelong resident of Dorchester’s Neponset area. “I think this is a fantastic project,” she said. “I think it meets a big need here for our fellow citizens.”

TCB’s Waxman said he is a 20-year resident of Jamaica Plain, and five years after he moved in, he discovered that Pine Street runs permanent supportive housing two blocks away. “It isn’t an issue where I live,” he said. “I’m doing this in my own neighborhood, very close to where I live. I welcome more of it in my own neighborhood.”

When another commenter on the virtual meeting asked whether West Roxbury had been considered as a location, Waxman said it would be if there was the right opportunity. He added that Pine Street is also developing a building in Back Bay, a block from TCB’s offices. “It’s not just Roxbury, Dorchester, and Mattapan,” he said.

“We’re not saying things are going to be perfect, but we are going to be transparent and open communication,” Waxman added.

When another Dorchester resident said parents will be pulling their children from the Murphy School if the 900 Morrissey project is approved, Waxman noted that he has raised two teenagers a thousand feet or so from the aforementioned Pine Street complex in Jamaica Plain.

“That’s fine for you but that’s not how it works for everybody else,” the resident, Elizabeth Brooks, said in response.

At another point during the meeting, Dillon, the city’s housing chief, stepped in to correct misinformation about the Ramada Inn, which is slated to get torn down for a separate development under review by the BPDA.

When one resident at the online meeting claimed that city officials were placing homeless people in the Ramada Inn, Dillon said it had been leased by Father Bill’s, a homeless shelter operator based in Quincy. The operator is using the Ramada Inn while a new building, which includes an emergency shelter, is constructed. They plan to leave the Ramada Inn once their new facility is complete. The move was not paid for, approved, or sponsored by the city of Boston, she added.

While some attendees complained about the meeting taking place on Zoom, rather than in-person, Lori Hurlebaus, a Dorchester native and supporter of 900 Morrissey, said she was glad to see the meeting take place virtually. A previous in-person meeting, which drew hundreds of people, was “aggressive and hostile” toward the project, she said, adding, “I hope we see more projects that offer a range of housing.”

But local resident Jennifer Gillis called the area is “too densely populated” for the project. “We are scared, we are scared for the neighborhood,” she said.

Toward the end of the meeting, Erin Kelly also voiced her opposition. Directing her comments to proponents, Kelly said, “What kind of crack are you smoking and what world do you live in?”

The comment earned her an admonishment from the BPDA staffer overseeing the meeting before he moved on to the next person.