Pam Goodman has been involved in housing since 1973, when she began working as an on-site manager of public housing in Ann Arbor, Mich.
After moving to Boston, she worked for the commonwealth of Massachusetts in the Department of Community Affairs, now known as DHCD. In the early 1980s, Goodman was part of the court-ordered receivership team charged with turning around the Boston Housing Authority (BHA).
During her time at the BHA, she served as development director for the redevelopment of the Fidelis Way public housing development in Brighton — one of the country’s first large-scale redevelopments of a seriously distressed public housing community. She also worked as a project manager for a number of area development companies, and then as a senior real estate professional at Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo in Boston.
For the past 15 years, Goodman has been president of Beacon Communities Development, the development arm of Beacon Communities, a Boston-based, multifamily housing developer. While at Beacon, she has been responsible for the new construction or rehabilitation of more than 4,000 rental apartments and 200 for-sale units. In just the past four years, developments she has been responsible for include:
Repton Place, a 279-unit, new construction condominium development in Watertown.
Wilber School Apartments, a rehabilitation of the historic Wilber School in Sharon. The school had sat abandoned for nearly 30 years until Beacon redeveloped it to create 75 units of mixed-income housing.
Ocean Shores Apartments, a 97-unit, affordable new construction development for the 55-year-old and over population in Marshfield.
Old Colony Phase One, a 116-unit, affordable new housing development in South Boston, done in conjunction with the Boston Housing Authority. The first phase of a major multi-phase development will transform the oldest public housing development in Boston into a modern and less densely occupied community for low-income residents. Beacon has also been selected as the developer of the second phase, which was awarded funding by HUD in June.
Baker Chocolate Apartments, the renovation of 133 apartments in Dorchester Lower Mills that Beacon purchased in 2008.
Ames Shovel Works Apartments, Easton. The rehabilitation of the historic Ames Shovel Works will break ground this fall, transforming a 19th Century industrial complex into 119 mixed-income apartments.
The Homes at Easthampton, the final phase of the Easthampton Meadow Development. The initial development was a 60-unit, mixed-income community that supports families adopting children who have experienced foster care. Currently in construction, the Homes at Easthampton consists of 33 homes designed to have net-zero or below-net-zero energy consumption.
‘Tenacity And Patience’
Howard Cohen, chief executive of Beacon Communities, said Goodman has several skills that are essential to her success in real estate development.
She has an “uncanny ability to spot a problem that no one else has identified,” and “an extraordinary ability to coordinate extremely large teams of high skilled developers,” he said.
In addition, he said, Goodman’s “direct and honest manner of communication with public officials, neighborhood groups, and residents in occupied developments creates the basis for trusting relationships and constructive dialogues that result in positive outcomes.”
And she does it all, he added, “with a combination of tenacity and patience that makes her a great leader.”
Goodman received a bachelor’s degree and a master’s in urban planning from the University of Michigan Ann Arbor.
