Anchoring the North East corner of Chin Park, and Chinatown, stands the gleaming residential tower known as The Radian, its name owed to its curved façade. Older neighbors might remember the remnants of the old Dainty Dot Hosiery factory, dark and squat and dormant, about the polar opposite of the new tower.
One of the more interesting aspects of the Radian development was the innovative way its developers sought to address the need for affordable housing.
Radian worked with Chinese Economic Development Council (CEDC) to buy and consolidate parcels on Oxford Street to create 67 affordable housing units. Rather than keeping a smaller percentage (13% is called for in Boston’s Inclusionary Development Policy) of the Radian development as affordable, this unique partnership netted more affordable housing in Chinatown, at 14 Oxford St.
The CEDC was established in 1974 to assist the low income and often non-English speaking Asian residents of Boston’s Chinatown to achieve economic and social self-sufficiency. The CEDC evolved from its predecessor, the Chinese Local Development Corporation.
The unique partnership leveraged the experience of the Hudson Group (the Radian developers) to the benefit of CEDC, permitting help, cash contributions and so on. The creation of that many affordable units exceeded by a good measure what the developers were required to include in the building. As defined in the Boston Zoning Code, Boston’s Development Impact Project Exactions (“DIP” or “Linkage”) ensures that large-scale real estate development brings direct benefits to the City of Boston’s residents in the form of affordable housing and workforce training.
Debbie Ho, Executive Director of Chinatown Mainstreet said, “There’s always a balance to pretty much any development; the linkage funds requirement by every developer [is] a way to be able to build housing and fund projects. The Radian was the best project for Chinatown; the partnership was huge with a totally new building, from buying the land and to build all affordable housing, all by the Radian project.”
With the limited space in Boston Chinatown, residents are often met with having to decide which type of development would best support the needs of the community. Angie Liou, Executive Director of the Asian Community Development Corporation said, “Developable sites are so hard to come by, and so the community is often forced to choose between various amenities, e.g. affordable housing, open space, and schools. The City is moving forward with building a new Josiah Quincy Upper School on Parcel A, and that was for many years designated as an affordable housing site as well.”
Noam Ron, of Hudson Group said, “This was not a “cut a blank check” linkage agreement, but rather we rolled up our sleeves and actually pushed for actual housing creation. It was a real collaboration. Interesting timing as we’re actually looking to build on this successful model with our Kneeland Street project.”
Hudson is redeveloping a 22-story residential building with approximately 115 units. Originally conceived of as a boutique hotel, the firm reimagined it, in light of the needs of the city, post-pandemic. The new project will create new housing adjacent to South Station and provide a sorely needed affordable housing contribution, among other neighborhood benefits. Hudson’s website notes its long history here, 25+ years and their “robust community engagement process.” The Oxford Street collaboration is an example of that and we’re eager to see what will come of this new project.
