Hub seeking up to $100M for new real estate deals
City officials are looking to merge private and public money — up to $100 million — in a new independently managed fund that will focus on creating affordable residential housing and commercial space across the city.
A request for proposals released yesterday calls for consultants to submit plans for creating “an independent and external entity” that will
“preserve each neighborhood’s unique identity by increasing control of development, stabilizing housing and commercial spaces to reduce gentrification and resident displacement.”
The city’s chief of economic development, John Barros, said officials want to leverage city funds along with private money from banks and foundations to create more developments focused on affordable projects.
“When there’s a common set of goals in alignment, these tools make sense,” Barros said. “It doesn’t make sense for all types of development, a disproportionate return to developers is not what we’re looking for.”
Barros said he didn’t know how much it would cost to hire consultants, and while the bid refers to expected seed money coming from the city, he didn’t have an estimate on that number. The RFP calls for the fund to be capable of managing and disbursing between $10 million and $100 million.
The hired consultant would ultimately draw up a fundraising plan, as well as create an operating staff and budget. City officials said it was unclear if any new positions would be created.
Barros said the fund’s flexibility for developing commercial space would set it apart from other affordable housing initiatives.
“Commercial goes hand in hand with developing mixed-use buildings,” Barros said. “We think affordable housing is critical, but affordable commercial space is really something the city wants to address.”
Sam Tyler, president of the Boston Municipal Research Bureau, said other cities have begun mixing public and private funding in similar development funds. Though he said the plan was worth looking into, he cautioned that it would need to be closely monitored.
“A lot more detail is needed in terms of how this will actually work, how funding would come in and what the organizational structure is and what are the city’s ties to it,” Tyler said. “This needs to be watched carefully and be very transparent.”