A former Boston Public School has been transformed into New England’s first LGBTQ-affirming affordable senior housing community.
The Pryde, developed by Pennrose in partnership with local nonprofit LGBTQ Senior Housing, provides 74 units of income- and rent-restricted housing for seniors earning from less than 30% to 100% of the area median income in Boston’s historic Hyde Park neighborhood.
“There’s a need for senior affordable housing everywhere. And in Boston, we’ve seen a rise in senior homelessness,” says Karmen Cheung, regional vice president at Pennrose.
PROJECT DETAILS
DEVELOPER: Pennrose
ARCHITECT: DiMella Shaffer
GENERAL CONTRACTOR: NEI
MAJOR FUNDERS: Red Stone Equity Partners; TD Bank; MassHousing; city of Boston; Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Living Communities; Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston; MHIC; The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation; LGBTQ Senior Housing; Massachusetts Housing Partnership; Massachusetts Historic Commission; National Park Service
Residents have access to services aimed at helping them age in place. As an LGBTQ-friendly development, tailored social gatherings, cultural events, and other programming are offered, and staff are trained to address the unique need of LGBTQ seniors.
“LGBTQ seniors, in particular, are a little different from the general senior population in that they may have lost their birth family, perhaps lost their religious family, and, because of the AIDS epidemic, lost their chosen family,” Cheung adds. “When you take away some of those communities seniors normally have as their support system, they are very vulnerable, and the ability to live in a safe affordable housing community with peers that support them is really amazing and important.”
Robert Benson Photography
Completed in June 2024, the $37 million adaptive-reuse project also has meant the restoration of the former William Barton Rogers Middle School, which was built as a high school in 1902 and closed in 2016. Historic exteriors and significant interior architectural elements, such as the auditorium stage, mosaic tiles, and the gymnasium, were preserved. Local organizations now have access to approximately 10,000 square feet of community space. Residents also can take advantage of the large community room in the school’s former auditorium, a tiered classroom used for movie showings, a fitness center, and the courtyard, which has a paved walking track and community gardens.