BOSTON — A new 19-story residential tower is coming to downtown Boston, with a focus on supporting formerly homeless individuals and offering affordable rental options for working-class Bay Staters strained by the state’s housing crisis. State officials and faith leaders participated in a groundbreaking last Tuesday, hosted by co-developers St. Francis House day shelter and the Planning Office for Urban Affairs, an arm of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston.
The mixed-income development at 41 LaGrange St. in Chinatown, a short walk from Boston Common, is slated to have 126 units, including 70 units of permanent supportive housing. “It’s going to be a real home for 70 people who once lived in shelter and sometimes on these very streets – a place where working-class adults and families struggling to find an affordable place to live amidst all the luxury housing being built in downtown Boston, they too can find an affordable home,” Karen LaFrazia, CEO of St.
Francis House, said. “And in this residence, people with diverse backgrounds and life experiences are going to become neighbors. We’re going to ensure that our neighborhood is rich with diversity and welcoming to all.
” LaFrazia said officials are expected to gather for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the site in 2026 to mark the project’s completion. The development, more than a decade in the making, drew praise from Lt. Gov.
Kim Driscoll, Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus, Housing C.