September 2026

Keeping South Boston Seniors Close to Home

It’s not unusual for the South Boston Neighborhood Development Corporation (NDC) to receive desperate calls from older residents who are struggling to afford their rent and worried about losing their housing.

“We’re seeing displacement of seniors who have lived in South Boston for decades or their entire lives because the rental market is so expensive here,” said Donna Brown, executive director of the South Boston NDC.

That’s why the McDevitt Senior Homes development will be a welcome addition to the community. The development will include 16 apartments for seniors earning below 30% of the area median income and 19 units for tenants below 50% of the area median income.

“This project will provide 35 housing units that are affordable to seniors making below $36,000 a year and seniors making below $60,000 a year,” explained Brown.

McDevitt Senior Homes involves the adaptive reuse of an existing building in South Boston that was initially used as a convent.

… adaptive reuse on a small site is expensive so the FHLBank Boston grant really kept this project moving forward so we can keep the rents as low as possible.

South Boston NDC purchased the building in 2024 at a below market price from Paraclete Foundation, which operated an after school academic enrichment program there up until 2019.

Built in 1924, the building was used as a convent for the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur but was closed in 2004 when St. Augustine’s Parish was shuttered. Paraclete Foundation subsequently acquired it.

The South Boston NDC, which owns and manages about 55 senior housing units in two other buildings in the community, had eyed the property for potential redevelopment for some time. In 2022, they even advised a team of graduate students to submit an affordable housing proposal for the site through FHLBank Boston’s Affordable Housing Development Competition.

That proposal never came to fruition. But the South Boston NDC had the opportunity to purchase the property two years later with the condition they preserve the former convent building and repurpose it into affordable senior housing.

FHLBank Boston awarded an $850,000 grant through its Affordable Housing Program for the housing initiative, while Eastern Bank is providing approximately $10 million in permanent financing and construction financing.

“The Affordable Housing Program grant really filled the gap in the budget because adaptive reuse on a small site is expensive so the FHLBank Boston grant really kept this project moving forward so we can keep the rents as low as possible,” said Brown, noting that the redevelopment project will cost approximately $30 million.

“Every senior deserves a safe, stable, affordable place to call home, and McDevitt Senior Homes will importantly provide this opportunity for South Boston residents,” said Yongmei Chen, senior vice president, commercial group director of community development lending, Eastern Bank. “Eastern structured a comprehensive financing package to support this project, including a tax-exempt bond, construction loan, and an equity investment working with South Boston Neighborhood Development Corporation to expand affordable housing options in South Boston, and we’re proud to be part of a public/private collaborative effort bringing more than 30 units of affordable senior housing to the community.”

Residents of McDevitt Senior Homes will have access to onsite services provided by South Boston Neighborhood House, which connect them to senior health, recreational, and other types of programs they may need.

Turahn Dorsey, president and CEO, Eastern Bank Foundation, added, “Affordable housing doesn’t get built on financing alone — it takes partners willing to step in across a full range of needs. The Eastern Bank Foundation was proud to provide a grant supporting the renovation of the vacant and former St. Augustine’s convent, helping more low-income seniors in South Boston to be able to age safely and affordably in the community they call home.”

Construction on McDevitt Senior Homes is expected to be completed in February 2028, and South Boston NDC plans to begin marketing the apartments in the summer of 2027.