Colliers has arranged the $8.75 million sale of 1590 Blue Hill Ave., a 1.63-acre site in Boston’s Mattapan neighborhood, paving the way for a significant new affordable housing development. The property, long operated as an auto repair business by the McKeen family, is being transferred to a mission-driven partnership that has already secured approvals for a substantial new multifamily project.
The buyer is a partnership between the Planning Office for Urban Affairs, a nonprofit housing developer affiliated with the Archdiocese of Boston, and JGE Development. This group acquired the Mattapan site directly from the McKeen family, which had run a successful auto repair operation at the location dating back to 1976. With the change in ownership, the property is shifting from a long-standing commercial use to a fully residential affordable housing community.
City approvals are in place for a six-story building that will deliver 105 affordable homes. While specific development and construction details were not disclosed, the entitled plan represents a meaningful addition to Boston’s affordable housing stock and a notable densification of a 1.63-acre urban site. The partnership’s plan aligns with the Planning Office for Urban Affairs’ broader mission of housing development and neighborhood revitalization.
Colliers EVP Jeanne Pinado has advised the McKeen family over the past two and a half years, beginning when Colliers was engaged to market the property. Her background in developing multifamily properties in Boston was highlighted as an important factor in positioning the site for affordable and mixed-income housing developers. Through this engagement, Colliers guided the family from long-term ownership of an operating business to a sale that enables a new phase of use for the property.
Pinado described the future project as an extension of the McKeen family’s long-standing commitment to Mattapan. She noted that the development of 105 affordable homes for Boston families by the Planning Office for Urban Affairs will serve as a catalyst for social justice through housing development and neighborhood reinvestment. The transaction reflects both the evolution of a long-held local business property and the increasing role of nonprofit and community-focused developers in delivering affordable housing in Boston neighborhoods.
