Harbor Point is the redevelopment of a 1950s public housing project into a racially and economically diverse community overlooking Boston Harbor. The redevelopment transformed Columbia Point, a dangerous and deteriorated 1,504-unit public housing project serving mainly low-income minorities, into a fully renovated 1,283-unit mixed-income community with new amenities and integrated social services. The 50-acre community, now safe and attractive, was completed in 1991.
In order to attract and support a mixed-income community, the redevelopment incorporated significant physical changes as well as a variety of social support services. The developers worked with existing tenants to ensure they had a voice in the design and planning process and an ongoing management role. The $201 million development is organized around the water and includes a three-block-long landscaped mall with a health center and youth center leading to a bay-front park. Street grids were reoriented to reveal waterfront views, and the number of units was scaled back to increase unit size and quality. Existing structures were remodeled and new buildings designed to offer a diversity of unit types, building scales, and materials. Subsidized units blend in seamlessly, undistinguishable from market-rate apartments, for a shared sense of community.
Similar Projects
Baldwin Park #thisisCNU
Orlando, Florida
In the mid-1990s, the City of Orlando faced the closure of the 1,100-acre Naval Training Center, two miles from downtown. The easiest reuse option for the land would have included big box stores, an office park, and/or suburban housing pods.
Westside Evolves
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga is launching a highly ambitious plan to transform Westside, an impoverished neighborhood with the highest concentration of public housing in the city. Westside Evolves tackles the challenge of concentrated poverty, while ensuring
Aldershot
Aldershot, United Kingdom
One of the largest brownfield developments in the United Kingdom has produced a sustainable town extension that meets the local community’s most urgent needs.