2Life Communities Receives State Funding for New Senior Housing Development in Mattapan
February 19, 2025
BRIGHTON, MA — Brooke House at Olmsted Village, a senior housing development in Boston’s Mattapan neighborhood, has received an award of low-income housing tax credits, state bond funds, and rental subsidies from the Healey-Driscoll administration. On track to start construction in early 2026, Brooke House will provide 127 affordable, service-enriched apartments for seniors that will be 100 percent affordable to households with incomes up to 60 percent of area median income (AMI), with additional subsidies to support deeper levels of affordability. According to a press release, the award is part of the administration’s push to expand affordable housing opportunities across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
“High housing costs are one of the biggest challenges facing Massachusetts residents,” Governor Maura Healey stated in the announcement. “Our administration is refusing to kick the can down the road. We need to increase housing production across the state to lower costs — and these affordable housing awards will help us get there. Because of our tax cuts package, we’re able to give out more funding than ever before, which will directly support the creation of more than 1,000 affordable homes for seniors and families across our state.”
“We are grateful that the state is moving quickly to address the needs of its rapidly growing senior population, as evidenced by its strong support for this important project,” said Lizbeth Heyer, president of 2Life Communities, the senior housing developer, owner, operator, and advocate behind Brooke House. “At 2Life, we fully understand that increasing the amount of affordable senior housing in the state is critical to address economic insecurity and social isolation, the two greatest challenges facing older adults. Brooke House brings 2Life’s nationally recognized aging-in-community model to the vibrant Mattapan community for the first time.”
Brooke House was one of 14 affordable housing projects across the state to receive awards.
“Today marks a pivotal moment for our community with the announcement of funding for Brooke House at Olmsted Village in Mattapan,” said State Senator Liz Miranda (2nd Suffolk). “This innovative, affordable housing project will provide 127 new homes for seniors, while integrating healthcare, childcare, and community spaces to support the needs of all residents. As we continue to prioritize both sustainability and inclusivity, this project reflects our commitment to creating vibrant, multi-generational neighborhoods where people of all ages can thrive together! I am proud to support this transformative development, which will have lasting positive impacts for both our seniors and the broader community.”
“The Brooke House project is responsive to the many requests from seniors in the 6th Suffolk District for affordable housing tailored and designed to address their specific needs,” said State Representative Russell E. Holmes (6th Suffolk). “2Life has a proven record of listening to seniors and providing affordable housing, programs, and amenities for culturally diverse seniors to grow and strive as they age. We are at a critical juncture in time in which the needs of our communities are growing at the same time that access to supportive resources is dwindling. Brooke House represents the creative, out-of-the-box thinking we need to do more with less, enriching the Mattapan community through unique partnerships that benefit multiple generations.”
MASS Design Group, a social-justice-focused firm, is the Brooke House architect. The building has been designed to Passive House standards, bringing improved health, economic, and environmental benefits while reducing 2Life’s carbon footprint. Apartments will meet the highest standards of universal design to allow residents to remain in their homes as their physical needs change.
Like every 2Life community, Brooke House will incorporate a Village Center, a central gathering place for 2Life to both invite the broader community in and deliver to residents its award-winning programs and services, including resident services coordination, fitness/wellness programs, lifelong learning, and arts and culture programs. About 2,400 square feet will be publicly accessible community space, with a small convenience store included.
“2Life is collaborating with two amazing partners that are already well known and well respected in the community to bring our model to an entirely new level,” said 2Life’s Chief of Real Estate Zoe Weinrobe. “After being displaced by the closure of the former Lemuel Shattuck Hospital, the beloved Shattuck Child Care Center will be able to return to its original community and significantly increase the number of children served, creating new opportunities for interaction and enrichment for 2Life residents. At the same time, the Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center, which serves as the primary resource for comprehensive community-based healthcare services in Mattapan, will have a new satellite clinic open to 2Life residents and the surrounding community, addressing healthcare access issues that can impact health and wellbeing.”
Brooke House is part of Olmsted Village, the redevelopment of the final 10 acres of the former Boston State Hospital Campus in Mattapan. As part of the project, 2Life is also developing Treehouse at Olmsted Village in partnership with the Treehouse Foundation, whose model unites foster, adoptive, and kinship families; young people at risk of aging out of the child welfare system alone; and older adults who become “honorary grandparents” to live in a community. 2Life’s development partner, Lena New Boston, will round out Olmsted Village with a variety of wealth-building home ownership opportunities for moderate- and middle-income families.
2Life Communities, a nonprofit organization founded in 1965, creates communities that focus on affordability, which is a tremendous concern in Massachusetts, the state with the second largest gap in the U.S. between seniors’ median income and the cost of living.