Hamilton Co. begins construction of $17.9m, 44-unit apartment building

Roxbury, MA The Hamilton Company has begun construction of a new, $17.9 million, 44 -unit apartment building at 150 Camden St., completing the multi-building development known as Douglass Park. On hand for the groundbreaking ceremony were Brian Golden, director of the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA); Boston city councillor Tito Jackson; Joshua McFadden of the mayor’s office; and principals of The Hamilton Company, including founder and chairman Harold Brown.

“The BPDA is enthusiastic about the opportunities this development will bring to the residents and stakeholders in the Roxbury neighborhood and to the entire city of Boston,” said Golden.

Jackson echoed Golden’s sentiments, but emphasized the need for affordable housing for current residents of the Lower Roxbury neighborhood.

“It’s not the bricks and mortar, but the people who live here,” said Jackson. “And that’s why I want to thank Harold Brown and The Hamilton Company for their diligence in working with the community to bring much-needed affordable housing to our neighborhood. Once again, The Hamilton Company has set the gold standard by exceeding the 15% city requirement for affordable rental units.” A total of 24% of the rental units at Douglass Park is “affordable.”

The new 49,305 s/f building, being built on the last remaining parcel in the development known as Douglass Park, faces out onto Tremont St. near Mass. Ave. and south of athletic fields being developed by Northeastern University.

The new residences will include one, two and three-bedroom units, parking in an adjacent, existing parking garage and extensive, new landscaping. Units in the 5-story building will average 900 s/f and range from 700 s/f for one-bedroom to 1,200 s/f for three-bedrooms. Construction of the building is expected to be completed in late summer of 2017.

Carl Valeri, president of Hamilton Co., said the new residences are being built on the last undeveloped parcel within the Douglass Park development, which the Hamilton Co.purchased in 2013 for $52 million. The park currently includes two other residential buildings on Columbus Ave. – one comprised of 134 apartments; the other, 33 condominiums.

“This project is a collaborative effort to provide modern, centrally-located, transit-oriented housing that meets the needs of the neighborhood and the city of Boston,” said Valeri. “Our architects did a tremendous job to design a building that fits nicely within the framework of the surrounding area.”

David Hacin of Hacin & Associates, architects on the project, said the alternating use of brick and panel on the building “activates the façade” and allows for uniquely different views of the building from both Tremont St. and Columbus Ave. Hacin said, “The design of the building picks up the rhythm and scale of nearby South End and Lower Roxbury buildings, while the materiality and placement of the brick exercises a contemporary interpretation of the mansard roof condition.”

Jameson Brown, vice president for development at the Hamilton Co., said the 44 units at 150 Camden St. represent only a portion of the 250 housing units currently under construction or being planned by Hamilton Co. in the city.

“We continue to do our best to provide sorely-needed, moderately-priced housing to the neighborhoods of Boston,”said Brown. “Our new developments will be marketed at rents substantially below those of new luxury units being built elsewhere in town.”

Founded in 1954 by real estate icon Harold Brown, The Hamilton Company has amassed more than $1.7 billion in residential and commercial assets in the Greater Boston area. Harold Brown, who frequently gives lectures on real estate trends and investment, is also founder of The Hamilton Company Charitable Foundation, of which Ronald Brown is chairman and Jameson Brown is a Board member. The Foundation allocates millions of dollars to local non-profit neighborhood groups, charities and associations annually.