We are deeply concerned about the proposal to give a $45 million tax break to subsidize the development and profit margin of a luxury housing project on the Lynnway. As currently planned, the 850 unit project does not include even one apartment affordable to the average Lynn renter.

Lynn is struggling with a housing crisis and tenants are facing displacement due to out of control rents. Especially in this context, it is not right to use public resources to support development of luxury housing that will largely exclude current residents. Even the small portion of apartments designated as affordable in the current South Harbor plan will be out of reach for typical Lynn tenants – those “affordable” homes will be reserved for tenants with annual incomes of over $89,000 for a family of four, well over double the median income for renter households in the city (1).

The current plan will create a highly segregated new neighborhood that does not reflect Lynn’s racial and ethnic diversity, and has little connection to the working-class and lower-income communities that are the heart and soul of the city. This is out of step with the city’s obligations to proactively prevent segregation under federal Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing requirements and to ensure equitable access to the waterfront under state law. It would also be a sad repeat of the mistakes made during development of the South Boston Seaport, a process the Boston Globe Spotlight Team described as a squandered “opportunity to build a new neighborhood for all Bostonians” that instead created “A brand new Boston, even whiter than the old.” (2)

In its current form, the South Harbor plan is at odds with the needs and desires of a large portion of Lynn’s population and tone-deaf to the priorities of the city’s communities of color and lower-income residents. The tax break should not be approved until the development plan is made more inclusive.

The city council elected this fall includes more people of color than any previous council, better reflecting our city’s increasingly diverse population. If the plan remains unchanged, rushing its approval just weeks before that new council is inaugurated would feed a perception that the concerns of marginalized groups are being swept aside.

Lynn can do better than this. We call on you to ensure the South Harbor plan is improved and made more inclusive – with a substantial portion of the new homes accessible to Lynn’s working-class and low-income renters and communities of color – before a tax break is approved.

We know it is possible to create a more inclusive plan that is still financially viable. The Gateway North building on Washington Street and numerous recent projects in other cities show that if inclusion and equity are truly prioritized, private developments like South Harbor can remain profitable while helping meet the housing needs of local people and without creating highly segregated areas.

There are several adjustments that could allow the South Harbor project to move forward while including, rather than shutting out, current Lynn tenants:

A. Given the scale of the project, the number of affordable homes could be increased beyond 10%, the affordability level for some units could be adjusted to match the typical incomes of Lynn renters, and a preference for people who currently live in Lynn or were recently displaced from the city could be added.

B. The plan could be amended to include a commitment to keeping rents for a significant additional portion of the units at or below the maximum allowed for mobile “housing choice” vouchers. Because the payment standard for vouchers is relatively high, the developer would still receive “market” rents and this commitment would have a minimal impact on profits. Combined with proactive measures to prevent housing discrimination, this could enable more current Lynn residents the opportunity to move into the new development. In addition to preventing segregation, this would help meet a serious community need: many Lynners with vouchers, including longtime residents, are currently threatened by displacement because they cannot find available apartments that meet the relevant requirements.

C. Housing funding and incentives from state, federal (3), foundation, labor, health sector (4), and CDFI sources could be used to support additional affordable units beyond what can otherwise be accommodated.

A provision could be added so that if the project is successful as projected and begins to generate net operating income, a small portion of the annual surplus would be paid to the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund.

These changes would increase the new neighborhood’s integration into the rest of Lynn, decrease de-facto racial and class segregation, create more equitable waterfront access, and gain support for the project from residents across the city.

We believe those are goals we can all get behind. We hope to work with you to add greater inclusivity and equity to the plan so that a vote on this project can become a moment that brings Lynn together rather than divides the community.

Sincerely,

Essex County Community Organization
Lynn Health Task Force
Lynn United for Change
MA Senior Action Council, Lynn Chapter
Neighbor to Neighbor
New Lynn Coalition

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(1) The median household income for Lynn tenants is $37,159 according to the Census Bureau’s 2021 American Community Survey. https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2021.B25119?q=income by housing tenure&g=160XX00US2537490

(2) “A brand new Boston, even whiter than the old.” Boston Globe, 12/11/2017. The Spotlight Team. https://apps.bostonglobe.com/spotlight/boston-racism-image-reality/series/seaport/

(3) “The Inflation Reduction Act: Benefits for Builders of Multifamily Housing.” US Department of the Treasury, 10/26/2023. https://home.treasury.gov/news/featured-stories/the-inflation-reduction-act-benefits-for-builders-of-multifamily-housing

(4) “Nonprofit Hospitals Can Improve Community Health Through Housing Investments.” Center for American Progress, 2/21/2023. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/nonprofit-hospitals-can-improve-community-health-through-housing-investments/