Boston Mayor Thomas Menino on March 3 unveiled his third, three-year strategy for producing and preservation additional housing in the city of Boston during 2009-2012, including affordable units. Under the preceding two strategies, the city of Boston since 2000 has overseen the creation of more than 18,000 new units of housing, 5,000 of which have been affordable, and the preservation of nearly 9,500 affordable units. This public and private investment has totaled upwards of $5 billion. The latest, Leading The Way III strategy, will focus on changing Boston’s housing needs in the following four key areas:
- Addressing the Foreclosure Crisis through targeted initiatives focusing on foreclosure intervention and stabilization of those hardest hit neighborhoods.
- Reversing the Rise in Homelessness through a targeted approach of prevention, placement, and production of permanent housing designed to reduce long-term and family homelessness by 50% by 2012.
- Preserving & Stabilizing Boston’s Rental Housing by preventing the loss of publically assisted affordable housing and helping stabilize tenancies in the open market.
- Housing Boston’s Workforce by meeting the diverse housing needs of the City’s workforce; from the highly paid professional to the minimum wage worker.
