The Boston City Council unanimously passed an ordinance that calls for vacant city buildings to be redeveloped into affordable housing as a “first priority” before other proposals.
The Council voted, 12-0, Wednesday for an ordinance to “prioritize surplus municipal property as affordable housing” to address what the lead sponsor and Council President Ruthzee Louijeune described in a related order as the city’s “severe and ongoing housing affordability crisis.”
“This ordinance is about reimagining public assets as part of the solution, ensuring that when municipal properties are no longer needed for city operations they’re repurposed transparently and thoughtfully to create affordable housing and strengthen our neighborhoods,” Louijeune said.
“Our city owns countless buildings and parcels of land that sit vacant or underused while so many Bostonians struggle to find an affordable home. It is time that we use our assets proactively and in a meaningful way,” she added.
The ordinance would establish affordable housing as a preferred use for vacant city buildings, once the city has determined the property is not needed for other municipal uses.
A statement issued by Louijeune’s office after the vote cites a 2022 citywide land audit that identified 5.4% of city-owned properties — such as municipal buildings, schools, police stations and libraries — as sitting vacant, underutilized or unused.
The city would conduct a feasibility study for surplus municipal property to gauge whether a particular building is suitable for housing redevelopment, in terms of zoning and environmental constraints, the site’s physical condition, estimated costs and where community sentiment lies, Louijeune’s office said.
Councilor John FitzGerald emphasized during the day’s meeting that the body’s approval of the ordinance would not change the city’s legally required public procurement process for redeveloping vacant or underutilized municipal buildings.
FitzGerald said the city would release a request for proposals to solicit interest from developers, as is required by state public procurement law. The ordinance, he said, would prioritize the use of that particular land first, but “doesn’t favor any one person to build on that land.”
Louijeune said that while the ordinance would create a process to evaluate surplus buildings for housing potential before anything else, it “doesn’t lock anyone in or the city” for that use, “and it’s not rigid.”
“It allows for an exception determination, should there be an alternative or best use through clearly documented reasoning as to why affordable housing shouldn’t be prioritized,” Louijeune said.
Further, she said, the housing-first priority in the ordinance would allow for mixed-use developments, with combined residential and commercial uses.
The Council president said she sees the ordinance as a “tool” in the city’s “toolbox,” but acknowledged that it won’t solve its affordability crisis.
“It’s not a silver bullet,” Louijeune said. “There’s no silver bullet that’s going to help us solve our affordable housing crisis, but it’s an important structural reform that advances transparency and public purpose.
“Housing prices are still at historic highs,” she added. “This helps ensure that every possible public asset contributes to addressing Boston’s housing crisis.”
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