Wu admin. wants to ease some fees, affordable housing rules
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Photo Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios. Photo: Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
The Wu administration on Monday proposed easing some of its affordable housing fees and requirements for developers, whether they're building large-scale commercial projects or condominiums.
The big picture: The proposed zoning changes aim to shrink cost burdens that have deterred developers from building in Boston, but stop short of granting the sector's demands of lowering its affordable housing requirements altogether.
How it works: Boston requires developers building multifamily housing with seven units or more to set aside 17% of units for affordable housing.
- Those who opt out have to pay into the state's affordable housing fund, called the Inclusionary Development Fund (IDF), as do the developers behind large-scale commercial projects like labs.
- Residential developers could also build affordable housing off-site, but those must be within a half-mile radius of the original project.
Driving the news: Housing officials proposed amending the zoning code to spread out the IDF payments across seven installments instead of two, reversing a 2022 city zoning change.
- The city also proposed lowering buyout fees for condo projects, from covering 75% of the difference between market-rate and affordable unit prices to 50% of the difference.
- The plan would also nix the half-mile radius for off-site affordable housing and exempt buildings with under 10 units.
What they're saying: Mayor Michelle Wu said in a statement that the proposal offers "targeted adjustments to help projects move forward and create more affordability."
The Wu administration also proposes a one-year freeze on commercial linkage fees, the payments that the developers behind large-scale projects make to support affordable housing and job training.
- Developers building research labs, for example, paid $26 per square foot for affordable housing in 2025 and 2026, plus another $4.78 per square foot for jobs.
- The fees are expected to increase on Jan. 1 to $27.06 per square foot and $4.98 per square foot, respectively, per a memo to the Boston Planning & Development Agency.
Zoom out: Boston construction has slowed amid rising construction costs, rising interest rates, trade-driven increases to fuel and materials and, developers argue, persistent fees and affordable housing requirements.
- The Wu administration outlined the first three factors as justification to freeze linkage fees and make other changes, but held firm on maintaining the city's affordable housing commitments.
What we're watching: Housing officials plan to present their proposal to the BPDA on Thursday.