Old hospital gets new life as affordable housing

The Olmsted Green neighborhood in Mattapan is home to about 1,500 people living in single-family homes. The neighborhood also boasts two charter schools, a community center, and large swaths of open green space. 80 more single-families are about to be built and most will be sold to those earning up to 80% of the area median income, according to The BostonGlobe.The land where this development sits was once the Boston State Hospital. The state sought developers for the 38.5 acre parcel and found the New Boston Fund (headed by Jerry Rappaport, Jr., pictured below) and the Lena Park CDC.The mixed-income development already has 298 apartments, 59 senior apartments and 60 single-families. Income restricted units form the majority of these places to live. Giving working-class people the opportunity to own a home and build capital is intrinsic to the project. Boston Communities, a real estate development company that is working on the final 80 units, specializes in affordable and mixed-income housing.F. Marie Morisset, a principal at Boston Communities and pictured below, said she is especially happy to help "create generational wealth" through homeownership.