THE OPPORTUNITY for more housing in Greater Boston can be found within the suburban communities connected to the MBTA’s commuter rail, as the region, with “underwhelming” numbers of riders and low residential density, lags behind other metropolitan areas like Toronto and Washington, DC, according to a new report.
“For Greater Boston, leveraging the vast, underdeveloped land around commuter rail stations represents a crucial opportunity to address housing shortages, reduce car dependency, and better utilize existing transit infrastructure,” wrote the authors of the report, which was released by Boston Indicators, the research arm of the Boston Foundation, and TransitMatters, an advocacy group.
The state’s housing crisis, driven by high demand and lackluster supply, is linked to a transportation crisis brought about by decades of underfunding and mismanagement at the MBTA.
While seeking to funnel more money to the MBTA through the tax surcharge on income over $1 million, state officials also have taken steps over the last several years to make a dent in the lack of housing, through passage of a multibillion bond bill and the implementation of the law known as the MBTA Communities Act, which requires cities and towns served by the system’s public transit to zone for multifamily housing.
That’s meant to create more supply. But some suburbs have resisted the addition of density through transit-oriented development projects, fearing more traffic and overcrowded schools.
The Boston Indicators/TransitMatters report points to Needham as an example, a suburb of 32,000 people 10 miles from Boston. The town has four stations on the commuter line named for it, but like most of the commuter rail system, the low frequency, one train per hour, inhibits ridership, according to the report.
Needham has a “sizable yet underutilized” downtown area that features large lots and surface-level parking. A building across from the Needham Heights station has been vacant since 2018, having previously served as a corporate office and a health care facility.
Voters in a town referendum earlier this month rejected a plan, which included rezoning of the parcel, to bring Needham into compliance with the MBTA Communities law. Town officials now head back to the drawing board.
Some have floated the idea of turning the relatively short Needham line into an extension of the Orange Line subway, or the Green Line trolley service. “Regardless of any future ideas, though, policies conducive to transit supportive density are needed in communities like Needham Center to home in on where the largest gaps but most promising future in density lie,” the report said. “Needham is emblematic of a widespread, two-pronged challenge of unlocking any new housing at all, and unlocking new housing in strategic locations such as near transit.”
The list of other similarly situated communities includes Belmont, Swampscott, Wellesley, and the border of Braintree and Weymouth.
The state’s Gateway Cities, which are mid-size urban centers that were once home to a booming industrial sector, also have what the report called “untapped potential” for higher density levels. Development in these cities faces financial headwinds due to market conditions, and rents that they say aren’t enough to make up for the high construction costs. Regulatory red tape hasn’t helped, either.
Brockton, with three commuter rail stations along the Middleborough/Lakeville line, is an example here. The city has 32 acres of land that can be developed around those stations.
“Approximately 46 percent of downtown is currently dedicated to car infrastructure, such as surface parking lots, which could be repurposed for higher-density housing and mixed-use development,” the report said. “These underutilized parcels represent an opportunity to build more walkable neighborhoods near transit without the complexities of retrofitting already dense areas.”
Brockton has a chance to become a model, the report suggested, by streamlining development approvals and state investments in city-owned land for multifamily construction, in addition to improvements to transit service frequency.
The report pointed to Toronto and DC, as well as northern New Jersey and Vancouver, as models outside Massachusetts that have added housing close to transit hubs as they expanded networks, and increased the frequency of reliable service.
For Greater Boston to catch up with those areas, “immediate action” is needed to bring about dense and walkable neighborhoods served by buses and trains, driving economic development. “By linking housing production to transit investment, the MBTA and regional stakeholders can foster communities that are affordable, vibrant, and sustainable,” the report said. “The path forward is challenging but achievable.”
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