An enthusiastic group of neighbors and officials gathered late last month to mark the groundbreaking of Hamilton at Mt. Everett – a 36-unit affordable housing development for older adults at 25-33 Hamilton St.
The VietAID-led development is a partnership with the city’s Mayor’s Office of Housing and several affordable housing financiers, with the units available in a variety of income ranges to those 62 and over. Four units are reserved for older adults exiting homelessness.
The event marked the second development by VietAID in the Bowdoin-Geneva area recently, the first being 191-195 Bowdoin St. with the Dorchester Food Co-Op on the ground floor in 2023.
The Hamilton on Mt. Everett is meant to be a place for older adults to “age in place,” according to Mayor Wu, who attended the groundbreaking.
“This project reflects the City of Boston’s commitment to ensuring that older Bostonians can age in place in the communities they’ve helped build,” said the mayor. “By transforming underutilized land into homes filled with care, services, and connection, we’re investing in a future where every older Boston resident can age in place with dignity and stability.”
Ed Augustus, secretary of the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, noted that “it’s unfortunate, but the fastest growing population of our homeless population are senior citizens.
They’ve spent their lives raising families and paying taxes and serving in the military, but on a fixed income they can find themselves homeless. That shouldn’t happen in the USA, and especially in the Commonwealth.”
VietAID Director George Huynh said he and his brother grew up on nearby Geneva Avenue with their mother, who is now an older adult enjoying the amenities of an apartment.
“Housing is about more than a roof and walls,” he said. “Nowadays she tells me she would like a bedroom of her own. It’s about having a place of her own where she’s comfortable and in her community. I think about how older adults like my mom will have that here at Hamilton on Mt. Everett.”
The building, which was approved in 2022, is a 4-story, 44,393-square-foot development that will feature one-bedroom apartments, along with a community room, lobby, management office, meeting room, game alcove, package room, bicycle room, and two elevators.
The site plan also includes 13 parking spaces and 18 bicycle parking spaces.
