Dorchester Says Xin Chào! to Affordable Apartments

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

A new affordable housing project is under way in Dorchester’s Four Corners section.

Located at 322-336 Washington St., the Upper Washington project kicked off last week with a ground breaking ceremony highlighted by a special appearance from Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh, community partners, project lenders, as well as other local, city and state dignitaries.

Rendering of Upper Washington – 322-336 Washington St. – Dorchester

Designed by Utile Inc., the $15 million project is being developed by a joint venture between Nauset Construction and the Vietnamese-American Initiative for Development (VietAid)—a local organization that aims to build a strong Vietnamese-American community in the vibrant Fields Corner neighborhood. According to the Dorchester Reporter, VietAid received funding for this project from a variety of public and private sources, such as the City of Boston Department of Neighborhood Development, the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development, RBC Capital Markets, Eastern Bank, and several others.

The 48,000-square-foot mixed-use development is being constructed on nine city-owned lots and one private lot. As detailed by the developer, the project calls for two separate structures: the four-story, 31,775-square-foot East Building which will contain 23 apartment units, and the three-story, 16,000-square-foot West Building consisting of 12 units. The rental apartments will be offered in a combination of one-, two- and three-bedroom units, with nine units reserved for formerly homeless families.

Upper Washington will also include an onsite playground and 25 parking spaces. Between them, the buildings will have 3,600 square feet of ground-floor commercial and community space.

“This project aligns well with our extensive multi-unit residential and mixed-use experience with sustainable, tight urban infill developments.” said Nauset Construction President Anthony Papantonis. “And we are proud to be part of the team that is helping the City of Boston achieve its affordable housing initiatives.”

A list of sustainable elements such as photovoltaic cells into the EPDM roofing, high-performance insulation, energy efficient MEP systems and reclaimed materials will be used to achieve credits towards LEED Silver certification once the project in complete in May 2016.

Rendering via Utile Inc.