Jamaica Plain Monastery Site Eyes 158 New Homes

Renters and buyers in Jamaica Plain would gain 158 units, with 38 reserved for income-restricted households.

Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Apartments

Photograph of a weathered brick residential edge with a bare scaffold frame, a leafless tree casting a long shadow, and a brick rowhouse block under overcast daylight. — Sixteen Penny revised its plan to demolish a former Jamaica Plain monastery and build a 158-unit apartment and condo building, 38 of them income-restricted. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Developer Sixteen Penny has revised its plan to demolish the former Jamaica Plain monastery at 920 Centre St. and build a 5-story, 190,000 square-foot apartment and condo building. State Rep. Sam Montaño has backed the project, which would include 158 apartments and condominiums, 38 of them income-restricted.

Why it matters

For Boston renters and buyers, the project would add 158 homes in a neighborhood where the local housing crunch is the central argument, with 38 units reserved for income-restricted households. The revision also moved the building more than 50 feet from the Arnold Arboretum lot line after the Arboretum raised shadow concerns, showing how neighborhood review can reshape a project's size and layout.

The revised plan replaces the former monastery at 920 Centre St. with a 190,000 square-foot building holding 158 apartments and condominiums, including 38 income-restricted units. Developers moved the structure more than 50 feet from the Arboretum lot line and offered a half-acre easement for a tree buffer.

The players

Sixteen Penny

A Wellesley-based developer seeking to redevelop the former Jamaica Plain monastery.

Sam Montaño

A Massachusetts state representative who wrote that building more housing is the only way to solve the local housing crisis.

Arnold Arboretum

The Harvard-owned preserve whose ecologically sensitive areas face shadow effects from the project.

Boston Planning Department

The city agency that reviews the project's proposal.

Neighbors for More Neighbors

A group that submitted a petition urging approval of the project.

The details

Sixteen Penny, a Wellesley-based developer, has sought approval to redevelop the property since February 2025, and in June it dropped plans for a separate 4-story condo building behind the monastery. The current proposal demolishes the monastery and replaces it with a 5-story apartment and condo building. An independent analysis found the project would cast two to three hours of new shadow over vegetated portions of the Arnold Arboretum, and the Arboretum rejected the proposed vegetated buffer.

February 2025: Sixteen Penny began seeking approval to redevelop the monastery property.
June: Sixteen Penny dropped plans for a 4-story condo building behind the monastery.
November 5, 2026: State Rep. Sam Montaño's support for the redevelopment was reported.

The Home Front

The proposal fits a Boston pattern in which new mid-sized apartment buildings are weighed against affordability targets and neighborhood concerns. The 38 income-restricted units make up about 24 percent of the new homes, a share that frames the project within the city's ongoing housing-supply debate.

If you rent or are searching for an apartment in Jamaica Plain, watch for updates on the 158-unit project and its 38 income-restricted units if you may qualify. Renters near Centre Street should track the Boston Planning Department's review, since final approval would determine whether the building is built.

The takeaway

Redevelopment fights in Boston often turn on details like building height and shadow, and the revised 5-story plan shows how those changes can shape what gets built. If you are tracking affordable options, note the 38 income-restricted units and check eligibility rules with the developer or city housing office before planning a move.