Housing Development
Dorchester Bay was founded with the explicit intent of addressing the shortage of quality affordable housing in Upham’s Corner and the surrounding neighborhoods. Over the last 35 years, we have helped to stabilize the local housing market by acquiring existing housing in poor repair or at risk of becoming unaffordable, and by adding high quality affordable homes through new construction. Frequently, we have partnered with neighboring non-profits or tenant organizations to maximize our impact and meet urgent needs as defined and voiced by residents. We are proud of a history that includes opportunities both to rent and to own for individuals and families with limited options to stay and grow in Dorchester. Moving forward, we are incorporating a new focus on moderately-priced housing with our long-term commitment to deeply affordable housing. We hope that this new housing – which will be affordable to middle-income families – will keep our communities affordable to all families, especially in the face of the current trend in which high-end housing is squeezing many residents out of our neighborhoods.
Rental Development
Dorchester Bay has a portfolio of over 900 rental homes. These units access a variety of federal and state programs to provide affordable options to households underserved by the conventional rental market. Buildings throughout Dorchester hold a variety of options for residents, including location, building type, and apartment size. Our organizing and resident services staff provide residents with the supports they need to be successful in these apartments, no longer having to worry about the burden of paying a rent that is out-of-reach. We work closely with three property management companies to ensure high quality maintenance of every unit in our portfolio.
Read more about our rental developments in our Real Estate Portfolio.
Homeownership
3 Clarkson Ext.
Dorchester Bay’s homeownership programs have allowed us to address two important issues at the same time, both of which have created important opportunity in our neighborhoods. Many of our homeownership endeavors have involved transforming abandoned houses or properties at-risk of foreclosure into new, marketable homes. In these transformations, we have very literally changed the face of individual properties and, often, entire blocks. By selling these properties to community members who might not otherwise have the important wealth-building opportunity of homeownership, we have also helped changed the possibilities for the homeowners who have purchased these homes. Dorchester Bay has built more than 200 of these opportunities through our homeownership programs.
Read more about our homeownership units in our Real Estate Portfolio.