Council votes to surplus land for 217-unit Roxbury housing project

City Council · Meeting of August 26, 2026

Boston Council clears land for 217-unit Roxbury housing project, kills early voting curbs. Councillors voted to surplus two Melnea Cass Boulevard parcels for a Drexel Village LLC affordable housing development including 217 units, retail and community space. The body separately rejected, 7-2-1, a Councillor Edward Flynn resolution to restrict early voting to residents' home districts and extend state election receivership through 2028; Council President Liz Breadon called it "a disproportionate" response to an isolated ballot mix-up.

Councillors also accepted a $12.855 million Bloomberg Philanthropies grant for vocational apprenticeships at Madison Park, and Councillor Gabriela Coletta Zapata filed an ordinance for 12 weeks of fully paid parental leave, citing a roughly $17,000 cost of replacing an employee. "Let's not beat around the bush here, this is going to cost money," Coletta Zapata said. A resolution reviving the long-dormant Boston Human Rights Commission, filed by Councillor Miniard Culpepper, also advanced to committee.

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Source: the City Council meeting of August 26, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.