An Act relative to certain affordable housing and branch library space in the Dorchester section of the city of Boston

Streamlined rules for Dorchester housing and library

The law speeds one project at 555–559 Columbia Road in Dorchester. It builds subsidized affordable housing with space for a branch library. The BRA and its chosen developer can plan and build without most state procurement steps. Boston can get any needed property interests without section 30B procedures, and there is no legal cap on what it can pay. Prevailing wage and similar labor protections still apply. If the project uses state or federal housing tax credits, grants, loans, or tax‑exempt bonds, publicly owned work that serves the site must follow standard public bidding rules. If the project is later transferred to a redevelopment company or nonprofit not run by the Boston Public Library, that transfer must follow public bidding rules.