Drexel Village, an affordable housing project sponsored by a Black Catholic parish in Boston has received approval from the city’s planning department, clearing the way for a refreshed look at the corner of Ruggles and Raynor in the Roxbury neighborhood.
The decision, made in early December, was announced on Jan. 19 following an application and public comment process that first began in 2022.
“Stemming from community and city visioning, the project features three buildings designed to accommodate 217 units of affordable rental and homeownership housing, affordable childcare space, community commercial space, over an acre of multigenerational public open space, and state-of-the-art renovated church facilities,” the co-developer, JGE Architecture + Design, said following the approval.
Based on the recommendation of the Planning Department, the BPDA Board of Directors approved the Drexel Village Project at 175 Ruggles Street in #Roxbury to build more than 200 housing units on partially public land. https://t.co/Bh5ewByb99 pic.twitter.com/cHwNRJZXZV
— Planning Department (@BostonPlans) January 16, 2025
The project centers around public-owned land adjacent to the parish hall of St. Katharine Drexel Catholic Church, which is itself located just over two miles south in the Dorchester neighborhood. The parish hall was formerly the site of the historic Ruggles Baptist Church in the late 1870s, and the plot nextdoor has long sat vacant, mostly functioning as green space.
Known as the “Crescent Parcel,” the land was designated for development by the city in 2021 and tentatively granted later that year to Drexel Village, LLC, which secured a million-dollar loan for their redevelopment plan from BlueHub Capital.
It is connected to the Roxbury Strategic Master Plan, and PLAN: Nubian Square, which aims to revitalize the historic Black commercial center of the same name at the heart of the Roxbury neighborhood. Located at the intersection of Dudley and Washington Streets, the square sits just roughly half a mile southeast of the future Drexel Village site.
The project, which will also renovate the parish hall, is a joint partnership between JGE—owned by Black architect Jonathan C. Garland—St. Katharine Drexel Church, and the Archdiocese of Boston’s Planning Office of Urban Affairs (POUA). The latter aims to build affordable housing and revitalize neighborhoods by making use of a variety of available real estate.
The creation of Drexel Village specifically is viewed as a continuation of the mission of its namesake, the famed philanthropist nun Katharine Drexel, whose Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament served African Americans in Boston for more than a century.
“[Drexel Village] gives us the ability to build from the ground up an Afro-centric presence that speaks to the tenacity, dignity, and spiritual richness of the Children of God,” said St. Katharine Drexel Church’s pastor Fr Oscar Pratt II during the project’s open comment period.
“We are excited about the future of Drexel Village and our partnership with St. Katharine Drexel Parish to honor the rich history of Roxbury and serve as a gateway to Nubian Square,” said Garland and POUA president Bill Grogan.
The heavily majority-Black Roxbury neighborhood has long been a focus for affordable housing advocates. City data shows that a solid majority of Black, Latino, and Asian Bostonians pay more than 30% of their income on rent, while over a third pay more than half their income.
Drexel Village is one of several real estate projects approved by the city’s planning department in January, all of which include income-restricted units. Among them, Drexel Village will provide the most by far, at 190.
Nate Tinner-Williams is co-founder and editor of Black Catholic Messenger.
