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With TOPA, longtime Chinatown residents could have worked with a CLT to preserve their home, instead of being displaced. A 20-year resident of Boston’s Chinatown lived on Johnny Court with her husband and three young children. In 2015, the building was sold to an investor. The family was forced out after the investor-owner more than doubled their rent. He demanded $2,600 per month, as he converted the units one by one to short-term rental use. The Chinatown Community Land Trust had prepared a purchase offer for the building, but the owner sold it to the investor. With TOPA in place, residents could have worked with the CLT to protect their housing and remove it permanently from the speculative market.
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Jason Neal of Ayer, a 15-year resident of the Devenscrest housing complex, makes a point during an informational meeting led by State Sen. Jamie Eldridge, hosted by Stone Soup Kitchen Ministries, about the notices to vacate that some residents have received. SUN/Julia Malakie
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Devenscrest is a complex of 110 apartments in 33 buildings in Ayer, occupied by many working-class families, a number of people with disabilities, and approximately 200 children. Many of the tenants have lived in Devenscrest for decades. Owned by the same family for over 50 years, rents had been kept affordable.
In June 2021, out-of-state developers who own dozens of properties bought Devenscrest for $11.6 million in cash. The developers immediately issued eviction notices to a third of the residents, and said they intended to evict everyone, renovate the units, and double the rents. Most of Devenscrest tenants do not want to and cannot leave: there simply are not anywhere near 100 vacant affordable rental units elsewhere in Ayer and adjoining towns. The tenants quickly formed a tenant association, and are fighting to keep their homes and preserve the property as affordable for the long term. Had TOPA been in place in Ayer, the tenant association could have partnered with an affordable housing purchaser to save their homes. |
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6 Humphreys Place, a 6-family building in the heart of Upham’s Corner in Dorchester that has been in disrepair for years, has become a symbol of community pushing back against gentrification. The property has flipped between owners in the past few years, driving up the price, and threatening to push out the residents from the building. After a 4-year struggle, the tenants working with City Life/Vida Urban and Harvard Legal Aid Bureau have staved off eviction through rallies and actions, leading to a collective bargain agreement. On December 23, 2021 the Boston Neighborhood Community Land Trust acquired 6 Humphreys Place. The purchase of this property by BNCLT now guarantees that the building will be permanently affordable, in the control of the community, and entirely out of reach from unforgiving market forces. If TOPA had been in place, the tenants would have had an easier pathway to achieve stable, affordable housing. This story also demonstrates the type of partnership between organized tenants and community land trusts that TOPA will help enable on a larger scale.
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The Fairlawn Estates in Mattapan is a tenant organizing success story, that would have been better - and replicable - with TOPA.
Fairlawn residents dealt with rent increases from corporate landlords ever since the end of rent control in 1994. In 2018, after the commuter rail stop that residents had fought for was finally built, a national corporate investor bought the building, rebranded it “SoMa at the T”, and immediately imposed rent increases of hundreds of dollars on longtime tenants, many of whom were elderly Black women, moms and families. Some of the tenants had to leave, but many stayed and fought back, organizing a tenants association and working with City Life / Vida Urbana. Just this year, with support from the City of Boston and private investments and loans, the tenants worked with an affordable housing developer who purchased the apartments. All 347 units will remain permanently affordable. With TOPA, none of the tenants would have had to leave their homes due to a prolonged battle, and the City's $10 million investment would have gone into tenant or non profit ownership, rather than becoming part of the profit margin for a real estate investor. |
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The East Boston Neighborhood Trust is an innovative model of community governance of affordable housing and a feat of fundraising, which could become commonplace with TOPA and state and city support. In 2022, a portfolio of 36 multifamily buildings, totaling 114 units, went up for sale in East Boston, a neighborhood that has seen a dramatic influx of real estate speculation. Tenant organizers and the East Boston CDC came together with a diverse group of social impact investors, funders, and the City of Boston to purchase the properties and make them into a mixed-income neighborhood trust. The trust is now governed by community members and organizations, and the units are deed-restricted at truly affordable levels. TOPA could make such successes possible across the state.
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16-20 Westland Ave, Fenway (55 units)
In 2019, a small, family-owned company decided to sell some buildings in their portfolio, including a 55-unit apartment building at 16-20 Westland Avenue in the Fenway.
Fenway Forward hoped to purchase the building and to preserve it as subsidized affordable housing. Unfortunately, Fenway Forward was outbid. Just a few years later, in 2022, the buyers decided to put the building back on the market, and Fenway Forward put in another offer.
For a second time, Fenway Forward's offer was not selected; this time it was not because FF was outbid. The sellers chose a lower offer from a real estate investment firm who could close more quickly. Without TOPA, large real estate investment firms are able to acquire housing that otherwise would be designated for moderate- and low-income residents. If Fenway Forward had been able to purchase the building, it would have been affordable to households making between 30-60%AMI (for a household of 2, approximately $40,000 to $80,000).
In 2019, a small, family-owned company decided to sell some buildings in their portfolio, including a 55-unit apartment building at 16-20 Westland Avenue in the Fenway.
Fenway Forward hoped to purchase the building and to preserve it as subsidized affordable housing. Unfortunately, Fenway Forward was outbid. Just a few years later, in 2022, the buyers decided to put the building back on the market, and Fenway Forward put in another offer.
For a second time, Fenway Forward's offer was not selected; this time it was not because FF was outbid. The sellers chose a lower offer from a real estate investment firm who could close more quickly. Without TOPA, large real estate investment firms are able to acquire housing that otherwise would be designated for moderate- and low-income residents. If Fenway Forward had been able to purchase the building, it would have been affordable to households making between 30-60%AMI (for a household of 2, approximately $40,000 to $80,000).
Clearway Street, Fenway (161 units)
In 2015, 161 apartments across 14 buildings were available for a long-term 99-year lease. Over the following years, Fenway Forward supported a tenant union as its members felt the urgent threat of mass displacement. Even after community and public pressure, the sellers nor the buyers could not be convinced to help preserve the homes of hundreds of residents. Most of the long-term residents were eventually displaced or priced out.
If TOPA had been in place, an affordable housing organization like Fenway Forward could have worked with the tenants to preserve their homes and prevent them from having to leave their community.
In 2015, 161 apartments across 14 buildings were available for a long-term 99-year lease. Over the following years, Fenway Forward supported a tenant union as its members felt the urgent threat of mass displacement. Even after community and public pressure, the sellers nor the buyers could not be convinced to help preserve the homes of hundreds of residents. Most of the long-term residents were eventually displaced or priced out.
If TOPA had been in place, an affordable housing organization like Fenway Forward could have worked with the tenants to preserve their homes and prevent them from having to leave their community.
Joy Realty Portfolio, Fenway (284 units)
In 2024, Joy Realty sold a rental portfolio of 284 units across 8 buildings in the Fenway. If TOPA had been in place, an affordable housing developer would have had a chance at purchasing the building.
In 2024, Joy Realty sold a rental portfolio of 284 units across 8 buildings in the Fenway. If TOPA had been in place, an affordable housing developer would have had a chance at purchasing the building.