Co-creating Boston's Future-Decker: RFP

In November 2023, the Mayor’s Office of Housing (MOH), in collaboration with the Boston Society for Architecture (BSA), released a Request for Proposals (RFP) for infill housing development of two vacant, City-owned parcels of land in Dorchester and Mattapan. Inspired by Boston’s iconic triple-decker, development teams were asked to address the city’s unmet need for “missing middle” for-sale housing (6-15 units) through the use of innovative models of construction. The RFP was informed by a  Request for Ideas  (RFI) released in 2021, where participants shared innovative ideas for housing that could be built on one or more preselected city-owned sites. This storyboard seeks to document and showcase the RFP submissions and share our collective insights and lessons learned.

For the purposes of this RFP, “middle income” households are defined as those with an annual household income ranging from 80% to 120% of Area Median Income (AMI).

Over 100 years ago, a new housing typology emerged in Boston during a time of great change and population growth spurred by the city’s second wave of immigration. The triple-decker, with its efficient construction and design, leant itself to rapid reproduction in Boston from the 1880's through the 1930's, comfortably housing and providing wealth-building opportunities to the masses.

Now, as Boston’s population rises, more housing is needed to accommodate this growth. Recognizing the potential for development on land owned by the City, Mayor Michelle Wu completed a   City-wide land audit   in 2022 that identified over 1,000 parcels owned by the MOH and the Boston Planning and Development Agency. The majority of these vacant or underutilized parcels are an appropriate size for small infill housing developments, but are too small for large multifamily or mixed use development (75% of vacant or underutilized parcels are 5,000 square feet or less.) Despite the availability of these sites, and the demand for smaller-scale, low-rise housing affordable to middle-income households (those who don’t qualify for subsidized housing but are unable to afford market-rate prices, referred to as the “missing middle”), high construction and land costs challenge the financial feasibility of this scale of development.

Through this RFP, the MOH and the BSA sought to spur the creation of a triple-decker inspired housing model that could be developed at a price point affordable to middle-income households through the use of  an efficient and cost-effective design amplified through the use of advanced design and construction methods.

RFP Respondents were asked to respond to the 5 key themes that emerged from the ideas submitted in the initial RFI phase.

In 2022 and 2023, the Housing Innovation Lab and the Boston Society for Architecture   engaged residents in Mattapan and Dorchester   to establish the Community Vision and values outlined in the RFP. Residents across both neighborhoods voiced certain development priorities through a series of community meetings, including a desire for medium-density site development contextual to the neighborhoods.

Six eligible proposals were received in response to the RFP. Most proposals are summarized below based on the sites selected by teams in their responses. Summaries include an overview of the proposal, including narratives and designs, with direct excerpts from each proposal.

The six proposals received in response to the RFP represent a range of possibilities for infill site development across the city of Boston. Innovations such as the use of prefabricated panels, modular construction, and the holistic consideration of sustainable methods of building, highlighted the shared commitment to addressing the city’s housing needs in creative ways. Still, a number of challenges arose as part of this process, particularly in regards to one of the key goals of the RFP: financial feasibility for housing affordable to middle-income residents. All RFP proposals necessitated additional public funding to close the gap between the cost of development and an affordable price point for a middle-income household in Boston. The results of this competition demonstrate the challenges of achieving a price point affordable to middle income households at this scale of development, even with the use of advanced construction methods, given current financial conditions. No subsidy (beyond land) was included as part of the Future-Decker RFP, and this subsidy proved to be insufficient to achieve financial feasibility. As such, the city made the difficult decision to reject all proposals. Recognizing an interest from teams to learn about each other’s proposals, the Housing Innovation Lab and Boston Society for Architecture hosted a fruitful conversation with the teams where respondents could share and speak openly about their proposals and the challenges of developing missing middle housing.

1. Scale Matters. A number of teams expressed that a scattered site approach, where more sites could be included in a single RFP, could lead to greater efficiency. However, challenges may arise given that components may have to change to suit individual sites and therefore pose a risk in the potential cost savings associated with standardization.

2. Replicability increases affordability. Teams also mentioned that the best way forward for Boston to address the missing middle, specifically with infill, is to embrace modular construction with a standardized design that is meant to be replicable but customizable.

3. Innovative financing is key. Affordability, as one of the key themes outlined in both the Future-Decker RFI and RFP, is a space where greater innovation is needed. Teams expressed interest in finding ways to secure funders with a revised approval earlier in the process to help mitigate potential risks later on.

4. Modular construction may be cost effective under certain conditions. Under the right circumstances, offsite construction has the potential to minimize the gap between what it costs to build and what a middle-income household can afford (but replicability and scale matter). While not all proposals considered the use of prefabricated or modular construction, those that did highlighted how quickly a project can be assembled in comparison to on-site construction. Additionally, the lack of local facilities affects the possibility of cost reduction in such projects.

While the Future-Decker initiative has concluded, the commitment to develop new cost-effective housing models carries on! The Future-Decker initiative provided us with fresh ideas on how to continue to improve housing opportunities for middle-income residents, as well as finding ways of introducing new approaches and methods to building housing in Boston. In the future, we hope to find feasible ways to bring the best qualities of the initiative to the city of Boston. We are committed to continuing to build on the longstanding partnerships with residents, architects, and developers to achieve our common housing goals. Below are a few ways to continue staying engaged:

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