Boston Mayor Michelle Wu stated town is powerless to cease a state contractor’s controversial plan to transform a former West Roxbury nursing house right into a homeless shelter for households and migrants as neighborhood opposition intensifies.
Wu stated the state didn’t seek the advice of town on its plans to deal with as much as 48 homeless and migrant households at 5 Redlands Highway in West Roxbury — which a consultant for the contractor Making Alternative Depend has put at upwards of 150 to 175 individuals — however vowed to welcome those that might reside on the shelter.
“The city is not in the role to decide whether this project moves forward or not,” Wu stated Friday on GBH’s Boston Public Radio. “This is a state project that they did not consult the city on and did not consult the community on. At the same time … it seems that one way or another this is going to happen in the community.”
Wu stated she understands the method has been irritating for the neighborhood, and that residents nonetheless have questions. The mayor stated, nonetheless, that she helps the state’s aim for the undertaking, which is to get migrant and homeless households out of resort conditions that lack kitchens and correct methods to assist youngsters and seniors, and into extra everlasting and “appropriate housing for families.”
“We are going to make sure that whatever happens in this situation, where a former nursing home looks like it is set to be converted to a shelter for families who are in need, Massachusetts families, that we will do our very best to support these families and to support the neighbors in welcoming them as part of our community,” Wu stated.
The mayor’s feedback come because the undertaking is ready to be mentioned at a Boston Zoning Board of Appeals assembly on Tuesday. The ZBA has an “interpretation” set for midday within the case of direct abutter Stephen Marsh, who has filed an attraction to a allow issued by town’s Inspectional Providers Division.
Marsh contends that the proposed use for the deliberate facility is misclassified as “congregate living” when the precise use is “homeless shelter/transitional living,” which requires conditional use approval by the Zoning Board of Appeals,” his legal professional Kevin Cloutier wrote in a letter to the ZBA final month.
The undertaking, per the mayor, is “as-of-right,” which doesn’t require ZBA reduction.
Marsh additionally contends in his petition for the ZBA to overturn the ISD “change of use” allow that the plan lacks enough parking, and that even when was to stay labeled as a “congregate living” use — which he finds to be “unconstitutionally vague” — it could nonetheless require a conditional use allow for residing area on the primary flooring, Cloutier’s letter states.
The deliberate facility can be a part of the state’s Emergency Help Household Shelter program, which has been strained lately from the arrival of migrants searching for refuge from harmful circumstances of their house nations.
“This site is not adding new capacity to the system, but is part of the Commonwealth’s strategic shift to transition away from hotels and ensure stable shelter options for families experiencing homelessness,” an informational sheet from the state contractor Making Alternative Depend reads.
The shelter had initially been focused for a July 2025 opening, and has encountered fierce resistance from components of the West Roxbury neighborhood because the state first started sharing its intention to deal with homeless households there final spring.
The neighborhood opposition has not died down since that point, as abutters proceed to voice security, parking and different issues.
The West Roxbury Civic and Enchancment Affiliation Govt Board voted earlier this month to oppose the homeless shelter deliberate for five Redlands Highway, and has despatched its letter of opposition to the Zoning Board of Appeals.
Forward of that vote, Marsh had petitioned the Govt Board to assist his attraction to the ZBA.
Marsh instructed the Govt Board at its Oct. 14 assembly that the undertaking is a “rushed plan that would expose families to terrible conditions.” He stated there are not any bedrooms deliberate for the shelter, “only small hospital-style rooms without private bathrooms.”
He stated two showers can be shared by everybody on the ground, and the one kitchen for the ability can be positioned within the basement.
“Most concerning, it would operate under the state’s Emergency Assistance Family Shelter system, a program that has faced heavy criticism, and for good reason,” Marsh stated. “A recent report documented over 1,000 serious incidents in these shelters: assaults, overdoses, domestic violence and more.”
Marsh referenced a 15-year-old woman who was raped by a Haitian migrant in a Rockland emergency help shelter. Earlier this month, that 27-year-old man, Cory Alvarez, was sentenced to 10 to 12 years in jail.
“The truth is what they are proposing would not be a safe haven for families,” Marsh stated. “It would be a crisis zone.”
