Dorchester Hotel Eyed as Supportive Housing for the Formerly Unhoused

A hotel in Dorchester could soon be converted into a housing complex for people who have experienced chronic homelessness. Pine Street Inn and The Community Builders are exploring the opportunity to buy the Comfort Inn Boston into more than 100 units of permanent supportive housing.

“It is really hard to find affordable housing for anybody frankly, but for people who are the poorest housing at the moment is almost nonexistent,” said Lyndia Downie, executive director of Pine Street Inn, an organization that focuses on housing, support and outreach efforts.

Chronically homeless describes individuals who are disabled and unhoused for at least a year or having four episodes of homelessness totaling 12 months over a three-year period.  Tenants would be screened through the Housing Authority Waitlist, the Subsidy Administration screening and property manager screening.

"It's a group of people that gets stuck in shelters because they're poor because they have a disability. Oftentimes, they have pretty complex medical needs and it's difficult for them not only obviously to afford housing but to find the support services they need," Downie explained.

The hotel rooms will be converted into studios with kitchenettes. Case managers will work with tenants on basic life skills as well as accessing health services, job training or behavioral health resources. Tenants would sign a one-year lease and pay one-third of their income toward rent.

"These are our neighbors and they deserve to have housing that is affordable and to live in our neighborhood," said Lori Hurlebaus, a Dorchester resident who welcomes the project.

"I think this Pine Street project is really exciting and important for our neighborhood because we see so much luxury development coming," said Dorchester resident Carolyn Chou.

"I have been a part of fighting against luxury development along Morrissey Boulevard. That is just not affordable for our residents and is leading to more homelessness and people having to move out of the city and this project really supports folks being able to stay in our neighborhood, our unhoused community members getting stable housing is really important as we think about the future of our community.”

Once the purchase of the building is finalized, construction is expected to begin next summer, with tenants able to move in the following year. Pine Street Inn and The Community Builders are planning a public meeting about the project in September.