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Two Dorchester real estate professionals have joined forces to launch a new development company focused on their own neighborhood — and their first project, a 12-unit, three-building complex on Norwell Street, is now nearing full occupancy.
Jennifer Ha, an architect and co-founder of Hue Architecture, and Milo Stella, who operates Star Contracting, formed DOT Design Collaborative in 2023. Their first development together is at 104-108 Norwell St., where three new buildings— each with four condo units— have been constructed over the last year on what were once city-owned vacant lots.
As of this week, one unit— a three-bedroom priced at $393,120— is still on the market through the City of Boston’s Housing Office and their Welcome Home, Boston initiative. The units are offered via lottery to qualified applicants.
Milo Stella, left, and Jennifer Ha. Seth Daniel photo
For Ha and Stella, the project is a “proof of concept” to show how affordable housing in Boston can include innovative building techniques, durable materials, energy efficiency, and higher-end architectural details.
Ha and Stella had previously been approached separately to work on other affordable housing developments, including projects associated with the first phase of Welcome Home, Boston. When neither was selected for a bid in the first round, they decided to combine forces.
“We knew we could do an outstanding job for our neighborhood,” Ha said. “Why does this have to be a losat opportunity when we can actually come together and build what we believe can be what’s right for our neighborhood?”
The resulting company, DOT Design Collaborative, was formed ahead of its successful bid for the Norwell Street property in the Four Corners neighborhood. The 12 deed-restricted condos range from studios to three-bedroom units and are reserved for income-qualified buyers. Half of the homes are available to households at 80 percent of area median income and half at 100 percent AMI, Stella said.
A kitchen inside one of the units at 104 Norwell St. in Dorchester. Photo by Jane Messinger/DOT Design Collaborative
What separates the project from many similar small-scale developments, Ha and Stella say, is its construction standard. All three buildings are being certified under the Passive House standard, an energy-efficient building approach that emphasizes a tight building envelope, insulation, ventilation, comfort, indoor air quality, and sharply reduced energy consumption.
The buildings include rooftop solar panels that will be owned by the future condo associations. The combination of solar power and lower energy consumption should help residents control utility and condominium costs over the long term.
The developers also used a prefabricated construction system supplied by Bensonwood, a New Hampshire manufacturer. Exterior walls, floors, and roof systems were largely fabricated indoors before being transported to Dorchester and assembled by crane. Windows, insulation, and weather barriers were already incorporated into the panels.
Once the foundations were complete, Stella said, work crews were able to assemble and weatherproof each of the buildings in roughly three weeks. That method did not necessarily save money upfront, he said, but reduced exposure to weather delays and allowed more of the construction to take place under controlled factory conditions.
“We knew it was going to be more expensive than the typical build,” he added. “We did not want to meet the minimum standard. We wanted to go beyond.”
A view of the site on Norwell Street in 2023 before construction started through the City of Boston’s Welcome Home, Boston initiative. Seth Daniel photo
Construction costs are roughly $6 million, according to Ha and Stella, with total development costs of about $7.9 million. The project relied on city subsidy funds, matching assistance from MassHousing, and financing through a “mission-driven lender.”
“What we were able to accomplish on our project was really only possible because of the subsidy structure that we were able to tap into,” Stella said.
“I think it’s an argument for why these subsidies are critical and why we need to continue to fund those grant programs,” he said. “We can’t fix the macro-economic situation of land costs and construction costs in the city of Boston. But, if we have the resources available to us, we can accomplish great things.”
The Norwell Street units went into the market through the city’s website in May, and by early October nearly all but one had been reserved. Two homeowners moved in on Sept. 18, with several more closings expected this month and full occupancy anticipated by mid-November.
“The Norwell Street development shows exactly what the Wu administration is working to accomplish through Welcome Home, Boston by creating more opportunities for Boston residents to own a home and build a future in the neighborhoods they love,” said Sheila Dillon, Boston’s chief of Housing.
Image courtesy Jane Messinger/DOT Design Collaborative
“These new homes are well designed, energy-efficient, close to transit, and, most importantly, priced so that income-qualified homebuyers have a real opportunity to purchase them. Homeownership is an important way families can create stability, and we’re proud to help create that opportunity here in Dorchester.”
The final available unit— a three bedroom, first-floor unit— is still open for buyers. Contact Syliva Adorno, senior program manager at the Boston Home Center, for more details.
“I do hope that we can have more projects like this,” Ha said. “I am very proud that we have accomplished this and that we can show through the neighborhood we can do better.”
This article is part of an ongoing Reporter series on unique and distinctive properties in and around Dorchester. Do you know about an interesting local property that The Reporter might highlight in a future edition? Send us a note at newseditor@dotnews.com.
Copyright © 2026 Boston Neighborhood News, Inc. This content may not be re-published or re-used without written permission.
