Last week, Senior Project Manager Evan Miller participated in a panel discussion at BisNow’s Boston Multifamily Summit, along with the city’s top developers, investors, and city officials who shared insights on key trends shaping Boston’s multifamily housing market. Panelists discussed how developers are navigating continued permitting constraints, which neighborhoods and mixed-use communities are driving leasing activity, and the future of multifamily amenities and technology.
Evan spoke on the panel “Affordable Housing in Focus: Tackling Barriers and Identifying Current Opportunities,” which focused on innovative solutions from developers, agencies, and advocates on how to make affordable projects financially viable in the current market.
Expanding on the greatest opportunities for new affordable housing development in the region, Evan emphasized the need for developers to get creative with existing assets. To offer examples of how planners can be innovative with their deliverables, Evan highlighted two ongoing VHB projects in Worcester, including the largest office to residential conversion in state history and a new 9-story modular constructed building.
Evan also discussed the biggest barriers to affordable housing delivery in Greater Boston and underscored the need for better messaging around who can benefit from affordable housing projects.
“Affordable housing provides living options for our young professionals, our sons and daughters trying to find housing in the area they grew up in,” said Evan. “It is allowing our aging parents to age in place with dignity when the market or taxes have become too burdensome on a fixed income. Affordable housing is for our teachers, our firefighters, and our police officers. Our discussion needs to move away from what affordable housing is to who affordable housing is.”
Learn how VHB partners with clients to develop multifamily and affordable housing developments in New England.
