Mass. to auction 7 state-owned properties in hopes of housing production

The Healey administration will auction seven parcels of state-owned land this fall with a goal of redeveloping it into housing, and more than a dozen other sites will become available to developers over the next year.

Officials on Monday published an inventory of surplus state-owned land, highlighting more than 450 acres of space they say could become more than 3,500 new housing units.

In September, the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance will auction several plots including portions of the former Westboro State Hospital and the former J.T. Berry Rehabilitation Center.

The administration will also solicit prospective developers who could build housing on several other state-owned parcels, including vacant court buildings in Lowell and Fitchburg and vacant lots near Bridgewater State University and Middlesex Community College.

More than 1,500 housing units are already in the pipeline, according to Healey's office, with work planned to redevelop the former Boston State Hospital campus and the former Veterans Home at Chelsea, among other locations.

"These 450 acres will be turned into thousands of new homes that families, seniors and workers can actually afford," Healey said in a statement. "We are already getting shovels in the ground for thousands of these units, and we'll continue to work closely with several developers to get even more projects started."

Healey in October 2023 signed an executive order calling on her administration to inventory surplus state-owned land that could be used for housing. Officials excluded land protected under Article 97 and agricultural preservation restrictions.