Heading Home Launches Search to Acquire ½ Acre Land Parcel

BOSTON — Heading Home, Inc., a nonprofit provider of shelter, housing, and support services for families and individuals that is committed to ending homelessness in Eastern Massachusetts, announced it is actively seeking to acquire a property to test an innovative, scalable, affordable housing solution for working-class families across Massachusetts.

Requirements for the lot include approximately 1/2 acre of buildable land, ideally located in a by-right zoning district in Eastern Massachusetts. Heading Home plans to build a 6-to-12-unit modular structure on the property consisting of two- and three-bedroom apartments. The organization expects to rent the units for $1,500 to $2,200 per month to households earning between $58,000 and $115,000 annually or 50–80% of Area Median Income (AMI).

According to a press release from Heading Home, Massachusetts continues to face a severe housing affordability crisis. In Greater Boston, a household now needs to earn close to $200,000 annually to afford a median-priced home in the region, or at least $120,000 per year to afford rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the suburbs. The average two-bedroom apartment in Boston and Cambridge rents for $4,300 per month, and around $3,000 per month in the suburbs.

“The state’s affordable housing system currently serves only about 32 percent of eligible households. The sector has spent decades prioritizing its resources for families in the lowest income brackets, while most for-profit developers are focused on their bottom line,” said Danielle Ferrier, CEO of Heading Home, Inc. “The result is housing that’s cost-prohibitive to a large share of the state’s workforce. Many are forced to live paycheck to paycheck, struggling to cover the most basic costs of housing and food. That’s just not acceptable.”

A recent report from the Brookings Institution found nearly half of U.S. households did not earn enough to cover basic necessities in 2024. The report shows affordability has increased between 2018 and 2022 before deteriorating sharply as pandemic-era stimulus expired. Massachusetts has mirrored the national trend. In 2024, approximately 48% of households in the state were unable to make ends meet.

To close that gap, Heading Home is testing a model designed to work where the market and the subsidy system don’t. The project will utilize a Massachusetts-based turnkey modular builder to reduce construction timelines and lower construction costs, an efficient, cost-effective model that can be replicated across other communities. Financing for the pilot will include philanthropic donations, low-interest lending, and private financing. Once the model has been tested and demonstrated to be financially sustainable, Heading Home plans to expand the initiative and continue developing additional housing using this self-sustaining approach.

The pilot is designed to operate without government housing subsidies. While essential for deeply affordable housing, the layered application processes and regulatory requirements around these programs add years to development timelines and a high cost to every unit. Heading Home’s nonprofit structure is central to the project’s viability and long-term sustainability.

“Putting this plan together, we knew exactly what we needed to succeed. We had the advantage of consulting with a board of directors with deep real estate, construction and banking expertise. Modular construction gives us the speed. Our financing model gives us the runway to sustainably scale it,” Ferrier added. “We are aiming to prove this as a sustainable model that can be replicated by other nonprofits to scale it.”

Heading Home is currently seeking mission-aligned funding partners, impact investors, and land contributors or sellers to support the pilot’s launch. Interested parties are encouraged to contact Heading Home directly at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Danielle Ferrier