From Old Harbor to New Housing: Ground Breaks On $2B Re-Do Of Southie’s Biggest Public Housing Complex

By Andrew Brinker, Globe Staff

Some 90 years ago, Boston built its first public housing development, a sprawling, low-slung complex in South Boston called Old Harbor that was so large it effectively became its own neighborhood.

And on Monday, after decades of wear and tear, officials broke ground on the first phase of a massive $2 billion redevelopment of the complex — now called the Mary Ellen McCormack — that will eventually replace each of the existing 1,016 public housing units and add an additional 2,300 mixed-income apartments and condos.

The groundbreaking kicked off a construction process that is expected to last nearly two decades and constitute one of the largest redevelopments in Boston’s history. When the project is done, in 2043 by the developer’s timeline, this historic neighborhood stretching across 30 acres between Andrew Square and Moakley Park will have been razed to the ground and built anew, complete with infrastructure upgrades including roads and green space, new retail space, and climate reinforcements.

Read the full article in The Boston Globe.