Last updated on March 13, 2025
In early fall, the hammers stopped swinging and the drills stopped spinning on a five-story residential building at 3368 Washington Street. New residents have been moving in since then, and more than half of the new residents hadn’t had their own place to live in years as they experienced homelessness.
Now, they are living in a thoughtfully-designed, meticulously-planned, light-filled residence hall equipped with 24-hour security and support services aimed at keeping them in their new home.
On Wednesday morning, Mayor Michelle Wu was on hand for a ribbon cutting celebrating the completion of the building, which is the largest permanent supportive housing project in Boston.
“When you talk about dignity for people – this is what it looks like,” said Lyndia Downie, President and Executive Director of Pine Street Inn, on the eve of the building’s official opening on March 12. “It’s not just about the housing: This new building is giving people a whole new life and a new perspective.”
This type of housing is needed in Massachusetts as existing shelters are 25-30% over capacity, said Downie. The state’s homeless population numbered 29,360 in 2024: 5.6% of whom were unsheltered. Between 2023 and 2024, Massachusetts had a 74 percent increase in family homelessness (9,512 more people) putting it 5th in the nation for sheer number of homeless residents, according to the 2024 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress.
The building was funded by the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development, Low Income Housing Tax Credit, city of Boston, among many others, partnering with The Community Builders and RODE Architects to bring the building to life.
The project merges supportive housing with low-to-moderate income apartments – a concept not too common in the housing space – but with potential to reduce social stigmatization and provide for upward mobility. It features 202 housing units: 140 units of supportive housing units for individuals moving out of homelessness supported by Pine Street Inn and 62 affordable apartments for families, managed by The Community Builders (TCB).
Residents have access to a range of amenities, including on-site management, 24/7 supportive services staff, round-the-clock front desk security, community gathering spaces, dedicated areas for supportive services, two landscaped outdoor plazas, a multi-purpose room, fitness facilities, laundry rooms on each residential floor, a parking garage equipped with electric vehicle charging stations, and a bicycle repair and storage area.
“This is a one-of-a-kind project,” said architect Eric Robinson, co-founder of Dorchester-based RODE Architects.
Robinson’s firm has years of experience providing high quality design and architecture to historically neglected populations and neighborhoods. He said 3368 Washington is a testament to the idea that affordable housing and good design are not mutually exclusive.
“We wanted to ensure that this project fit within its neighborhood from a design perspective, but also that the design embraced an equitable approach with the characteristics that we believe are critical to high quality housing,” he said, mentioning outdoor space, high quality materials, a south-facing second floor courtyard and large windows. “I think we delivered on the majority of those.”
Robinson mentioned that the project was lowered by one floor during the permitting phase due to community concerns about height. While disappointing to lose that floor (which reduced the project by 20 units), Robinson said everything else about the project remained unchanged. “The public realm stayed the same… We didn’t condense any of the space.”
On a recent afternoon, Robinson stepped back for a moment to check his e-mails in a community area and watched as residents came in and out. For him, it was rewarding to see the residents make the building their home: “We generally get so caught up in the process that in the immediateness of what we are working on that we don’t take the time to stop and step back and let it sink in what we accomplished.”
Michael Montanino is one of the new residents, and moved in late November after 520 days sleeping in Rent-a-Car centers, public bathrooms and shelters. He said he arrived with a beard “like Santa Claus” and holding nothing but a grey sweatshirt.
“I count my blessings. I pray every day,” said the 35-year-old East Boston native who fell into issues with alcohol and a family who walked away from him. While it’s been an adjustment to returning to a bed, he said he’s met incredible friends in his new home, exchanging hugs when they meet in the halls. He has also since reconnected with his mother.
With his new-found stability, Montanino has dreams of working in psychology to help others like him. He’s already donating to Pine Street and Salvation Army, believing that “giving back is essential”.
“I was literally in the gutter,” he said, adding, “A lot of people showed me a lot of love and kindness to get me back on track.”
The opening of the building hasn’t been without some growing pains. Residents have cited electrical issues leading to late-night fire drills and some ongoing drug use.
“No question the first six months are going to be challenging,” said
Downie said that for many residents, it’s a huge transition, whether you are coming from housing or the street. “It’s a huge shift in your life. You are now a neighbor, and that requires a level of independence and cooperation. That’s why there are case managers on site to detect early warning signs.”
“This is a big part of the solution to chronic homelessness,” said senior vice president of real estate development for The Community Builders Andy Waxman, a JP resident, “Having this in my neighborhood makes me proud.”
When asked what he wants fellow JP residents to know about the new building, he said, “Part of me hopes they don’t know it exists – that it just integrates into the neighborhood rather seamlessly,” He quickly added, “But I also want them to know that there is a lot of great stuff going on here – that this is a high mission building helping to solve chronic homelessness.”
Downie also had a message for JP: “I want to offer them a huge ‘thank you’. We had a lot of support from the community, especially with zoning relief.” She said, “JP is a welcoming community. We are grateful to be part of it – grateful to be part of a dynamic community in a dynamic part of the city.”
