Honoring the Past, Serving the Future: The Mary Ellen McCormack Makeover

July 7, 2025

Executive Insights Affordable Housing Architecture & Design Boston More Development Featured Market Rate Northeast

CBT Architects' Devanshi Purohit shares insights on the $2 billion redevelopment of New England's first public housing community.

“Our goal is not to erase the past, but to build upon it,” said Purohit. Image courtesy of CBT Architects

Once an outdated public housing property in South Boston, the Mary Ellen McCormack complex is finally undergoing large-scale rehabilitation. The master plan created by CBT Architects reimagines the 1938-built property as an inclusive neighborhood where affordability, livability and climate-readiness are behind every layer of the design.

Spanning 26.7 acres, the $2 billion redevelopment will replace all 1,016 original subsidized units and deliver roughly 3,300 new mixed-income homes, including market-rate, middle-income and senior apartments—plus retail, green space and a community center. Construction began earlier this year and will stretch out over the next two decades.

Apart from being the master planner and urban design lead behind the site-wide transformation, CBT is also involved in the first phase of the project, serving as architect for several new buildings—including a fully affordable senior housing component—as well as for the one-for-one replacement of roughly half of the subsidized units.

The local architecture company has a long track record of designing large-scale urban projects such as the Suffolk Downs redevelopment, one of the largest real estate projects in the city’s history. Multi-Housing News spoke with Principal Devanshi Purohit about the company’s inclusive design philosophy, the value of sustained community engagement and how the renovation of the oldest public housing site in Boston will unfold.

How did Mary Ellen McCormack’s history and cultural legacy shape your design approach?

Purohit: As the first public housing development in New England, Mary Ellen McCormack carries nearly 90 years of cultural and social history. Our design approach honored this legacy by elevating what has always made this community strong: its deep social bonds and sense of place.

We focused on preserving positive characteristics—such as stoops, balconies and communal open spaces—that have long fostered connections and a sense of community spirit. There is plenty of outdoor seating, a universally accessible ‘tot lot’ and a new ‘town square’ where the community can come together. In this new town square and throughout the development, we enhanced the public open spaces by retaining select, existing mature trees.

Exterior rendering of Building B1 and Building B2 at the Mary Ellen McCormack redevelopment — Buildings B1 and B2 will serve as the northern gateway to the redeveloped Mary Ellen McCormack. Each new residential building will include at least 20 percent of permanent affordable homes. Image courtesy of CBT Architects

Our design team did thorough research around the existing trees—including size, health and location—and came up with a public space plan that incorporated many of those established trees along with additional ones that offered a plan for 2.5 acres of public green space with more than 375 trees, which are not only beautiful, but provide an important layer of cool shading for the residents of the nearly 600 affordable living units.

We rehabilitated, relocated and enhanced onsite memorials, including redesigning the existing Veterans Memorial to better integrate it into the redevelopment. This memorial honors the generations of military veterans who have called Mary Ellen McCormack their home, along with a promenade providing flexible space.

The existing Boiler Building was another preservation priority, and it will serve as the anchor for community programming related to education, workforce training, health-care services and more. These are just some of the features that support our goal not to erase the past, but to build upon it, creating a livable and inclusive urban neighborhood that carries its identity into the future.

Why was it important for the reimagined community to remain affordable, and how did that goal affect your design decisions?

Purohit: Preserving affordability was foundational. In close collaboration with the Boston Housing Authority, which has long championed housing stability for Boston’s most vulnerable residents, and WinnCos.—the project’s development partner—we committed to a one-for-one replacement of the 529 subsidized units, and that means no residents will be displaced.

This commitment required a design framework that supports financial feasibility through a true mixed-income model. By integrating middle-income and market-rate housing using the same architectural and public realm language, we are ensuring long-term economic sustainability without sacrificing equity or quality.

How did you approach planning for a truly mixed-income and intergenerational community?

Purohit: We created an urban framework that supports diversity in every sense, including income, age and household type. The plan encompasses a range of building typologies, including townhomes, mid-rises and elevator buildings, offering direct-entry units for families, accessible homes for seniors and flexible options for individuals. Layered into this are generous open spaces, active ground floors and pedestrian-oriented streets that invite all residents to participate in shared community life, regardless of income or age.

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What were some of the most meaningful takeaways from engaging with residents during the early planning phases?

Purohit: Through our community engagement meetings, resident satisfaction was a priority and we made it clear that this was not just a housing redevelopment—it was about restoring dignity, safety and opportunity. A key part of the process was working closely with the tenant task force, whose members brought deep insight into the community’s needs and aspirations. Over the course of four years, we conducted more than 30 community meetings and engaged in approximately 3,000 hours of collaborative work with the task force.

The input we received from residents shaped everything, from housing typologies and public space design to relocation strategies, onsite services, retail offerings and security measures. Their feedback also led to the addition of features such as improved street lighting, accessible green spaces and a large, multipurpose community center. This process has set a new benchmark for inclusive planning.

And how did you ensure design consistency and quality between affordable and revenue-generating units?

Purohit: Equity in design served as a guiding principle for the Mary Ellen McCormack project. Every residential building, whether affordable or market-rate, adheres to the same architectural standards, material palettes and sustainability targets. There are no separate public spaces, amenities or services for residents—everyone shares them. This uniformity reinforces the idea that everyone, regardless of income, belongs and is entitled to beauty, quality and opportunity.

Tell us more about the 17,500-square-foot community center created by reusing the old boiler plant.

Color drawing of the Billy McGonagle Community Center — Part of Phase 1, the Billy McGonagle Community Center will serve as a dynamic Community of Opportunity Center offering job training, educational classes, senior services and children’s activities. A central town square, suitable for community events and everyday gathering, will be steps away. *Image by Dongik Lee, courtesy of CBT Architects*

Purohit: The adaptive reuse of the original boiler plant as the new Billy McGonagle Community Center is a symbol of the project’s ethos: honor the past, serve the future. It will be the social heart of the community, offering workforce development, early education, health-care and senior services. Surrounded by a new community green, the center anchors civic life, ensuring this redevelopment goes beyond housing to invest in human potential.

What role does the 33,000-square-foot ground-floor retail portion play in activating the entire neighborhood?

Purohit: Retail is key to creating a complete neighborhood. The plan prioritizes local businesses, with portions of the space reserved for below-market leases to support small and minority-owned enterprises. Plans are in place for grocery stores, cafés, early education centers and community-serving amenities. This mix activates the street level, enhances safety and strengthens the economic and cultural vitality of the neighborhood.

The redevelopment plan envisions space for small businesses and local retail throughout the site, while partnerships with local nonprofit partners will provide workforce training services for residents. The retail leasing strategy will primarily take a ‘local first’ approach, prioritizing small, local, owner-operated businesses and organizations. Emphasis will be placed on extending opportunities to women and minority entrepreneurs from the surrounding community. The tenant task force played a key role in shaping the plan. …

How are you addressing the site’s flood risks?

Purohit: Mary Ellen McCormack is situated in one of Boston’s most vulnerable flood zones, necessitating a forward-looking resilience strategy. All new buildings are elevated two feet above 2070 flood projections. Our plan incorporates sloped green spaces, rain gardens and graded planters into the site to manage stormwater and reduce future flooding.

These strategies are not isolated—they are woven into the urban fabric, improving both livability and climate readiness. Together with fossil fuel-free, all-electric buildings, the project aligns with Boston’s goals of carbon neutrality by 2050. Strategic preservation of the site’s existing tree canopy, as well as the addition of new trees, will help mitigate urban heat islands.

Do you have other projects that follow a similar approach to affordability, sustainability and community-focused design?

Purohit: We applied this integrated approach to several other housing and mixed-use projects we’ve worked on throughout the world. What’s unique about Mary Ellen McCormack is the scale and depth of engagement, which brought residents into the design process from day one and will sustain that collaboration over the years. We see this project as a benchmark for how public housing redevelopment can be equitable, sustainable and community-led.

Looking ahead, what do you hope this redevelopment will represent, both for South Boston and for public housing in general?

Purohit: Mary Ellen McCormack shows that public housing can be beautiful, resilient and deeply integrated with its broader urban context. It represents a shift from the legacy of isolation and disinvestment to a future of inclusion, dignity and design excellence. I hope this project inspires cities and housing authorities nationwide to reimagine what’s possible when communities are placed at the center of urban transformation.