Photo courtesy of Google Maps
Charlestown neighborhood residents are heading to court in an attempt to block conversion of a former Navy Yard hotel into supportive housing.
The lawsuit seeks to overturn the Boston Planning & Development Agency’s approval of the project, which was scaled back by developers in 2023 in response to neighborhood concerns.
The project, a partnership between the Archdiocese of Boston’s Planning Office of Urban Affairs and the St. Francis House homeless shelter, would convert the vacant Constitution Inn at 150 Third Ave. into housing for formerly homeless individuals.
In December, the BPDA approved plans to convert the former hotel into 100 income-restricted units, including 48 units of supportive housing for formerly homeless individuals, and space leased back to the YMCA for a fitness center.
As first reported by the Boston Globe, a lawsuit filed this week in Suffolk Superior Court by 11 Charlestown residents seeks to overturn the approval or have it sent back to the BPDA to reopen the public hearing process.
The complaint argues that the supportive housing model, including shared kitchen and communal spaces, requires a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeal.
It also states that the Navy Yard has inadequate public transportation and medical facilities to serve the future residents, and that the BPDA failed to appoint an impact advisory group to review the project as is common practice for development proposals.
Opponents also objected to the format of virtual public hearings held by the BPDA on the project, claiming that some Charlestown residents were not allowed to comment while supporters from outside the neighborhood spoke in favor. The lawsuit also claims that the current lease on the property violates the terms of a 1978 deed restriction on the property.
The hotel closed during COVID and is leased by the Economic Development and Industrial Corp. of Boston to the YMCA of Greater Boston, which placed it on the market.
A message was left with the BPDA seeking comment.
