By Dan Murphy
An eagerly awaited new project proposed by the newly rebranded Fenway Forward (formerly Fenway CDC) that will bring new affordable home-ownership opportunities to Beacon Hill cleared a last hurdle on Oct. 7 when it received final approval from the city’s Zoning Board of Appeal.
Per its agreement with developer JDMD, the nonprofit Fenway CDC (Community Development Center) is redeveloping two adjacent buildings located at 27-29 Hancock St., which are both currently zoned as lodging houses, into a total of 15 units at 80-100 percent AMI (Area Median Income) for new homeowners.
JDMD, which developed The Archer Residences – a luxury condo building on Temple Street – purchased 27-29 Hancock St. in 2018, with plans to gift the buildings to another developer for the creation of off-site affordable housing units to satisfy its IDP (Inclusionary Development Policy) with the city for the Archer project.
Construction is expected to take around 15 months to complete, after kicking off at the end of this year or in January of next year. Closing on the sale of the residential units is then expected to follow in the third quarter of ’27, according to Eddie Quinn, real estate project manager for Fenway Forward, at a Sept. 3 virtual public meeting of the Beacon Hill Civic Association Zoning and Licensing Committee.
The project came to fruition through the efforts of Fenway Forward working in close partnership with and with support from the BHCA; Homes on Hancock – a grass-roots group which continually advocated for the creation of adequate affordable housing at 27-29 Hancock St.; and the city.
Advocates for the project have noted it will have a significant impact on Beacon Hill’s housing stock, since there is now only one affordable home ownership unit in the neighborhood.
Meanwhile, the organization formerly known as Fenway CDC (Community Development Corporation) officially changed its name last week to ‘Fenway Forward’ in late September, following a year of strategic planning and input from community members.
The name change for the 52-year-old nonprofit, which offers affordable housing, resident services, and workforce development programs in the Fenway neighborhood and beyond, coincided with the release of its four-year strategic plan (2026-2029).