The Morton Street Campus proposal – developed by BMC in partnership with a coalition of community-based providers of health, addiction, and supportive housing services – proposes a coordinated mix of clinical programs and supportive housing to meet the needs of individuals facing mental illness, addiction and homelessness. This proposal includes 446 treatment beds (272 Clinical Beds and 174 emergency shelter and transitional programming beds) and 405 units of supportive housing for individuals and families. We anticipate modifications to this plan based on community feedback.

The coordinated clinical and housing model being proposed for Morton Street was developed by the following expert providers:

• Providers of clinical and support programs: BMC, Bay Cove Human Services, Boston Healthcare for the Homeless Program, Health Care Resource Centers, Victory Programs and Pine Street Inn.  These providers offer unmatched experience providing clinical and social services to community members in Boston.
• Housing developer partners:  The Community Builders and Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation have partnered with communities and government to produce and manage thousands of supportive and affordable housing units across the Boston region, integrating supportive services into every aspect of design and operations.

BMC, the largest essential hospital in New England, is committed to a healthier, more equitable and thriving community. BMC is nationally known for its research and clinical programs in addiction and mental health and has assembled a team of best-in-class service providers and supportive housing developers, owners and operators for the proposed redevelopment of Shattuck Hospital Campus at Morton Street.

The site has been used in support of public health needs for nearly 70 years; in 2026 the Commonwealth plans to relocate all medical and psychiatric services currently at Shattuck Hospital to the East Newton Pavilion in the South End,  With that transition in mind, the Commonwealth issued an RFP for redevelopment of the site to include both clinical space geared towards residential treatment and the provision of physical and behavioral health services addressing Substance Use Disorder and supportive housing.

The current proposal is consistent with the longstanding mix of clinical, shelter and emergency housing services offered on the site. The most notable difference is the proposed inclusion of supportive housing.

We are proposing comprehensive and coordinated clinical services for individuals with mental illness, substance use disorder and related clinical care needs. Our goal is to create a coordinated and connected set of services in one location, to support improved outcomes for patients, helping them stay in recovery. The specific clinical services we are proposing include a mix of services already existing at the Shattuck site, as well as new programs largely geared toward people at later stages of recovery.

Our proposed mix of existing and new services includes:

• 32 Acute Treatment Service (also referred to as Inpatient Detox) beds
• 48 Clinical Stabilization Services (CSS) beds
• 112 Residential Rehabilitation Service (RRS) beds
• Outpatient Services (e.g., primary care services, Opioid Treatment Program)
• 48 Intensive Inpatient Psychiatry beds
• 32 Behavioral Health Respite Unit beds

We anticipate modifications to this plan based on community feedback.

Supportive housing is long-term housing that people call a home, with access to case management, job training, life skills, counseling, transportation, and other supports. Residents will be tenants who sign a lease and pay rent. Experience shows that supportive housing is an effective public health strategy, supporting individuals in successfully achieving their goals for improved health and stability. Supportive housing is very different from the low-threshold shelter beds operated on the site today.

Many of the coalition partners have extensive experience in developing and operating supportive housing for individuals with behavioral health and substance use disorder needs; the model is effective and in place in multiple communities throughout Greater Boston. Our model of housing on the site will be affordable and with the goal of building community, and we will work with the City and State and consider community feedback to determine how to prioritize potential residents.

Both the population we expect to serve and the broader community will significantly benefit from the proposed supportive housing services, including long-term housing with access to a wide array of support services and case management.  In addition, we have proposed a highly structured set of short term/emergency housing. The proposal includes:

• Supportive housing: 405 new units of supportive housing (including 200 units for individuals proposed in Phase One and managed by the Pine Street Inn, and 205 units for families proposed in Phase Two and managed by the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation).
• Emergency shelter and transitional programming: 90 Emergency Shelter/transitional beds, 54 beds for Structured Outpatient Addiction Program participants, 30 Safe Haven Program beds (managed by Pine Street Inn).

We anticipate modifications to this plan based on community feedback.

The Morton Street redevelopment presents an opportunity for us to provide coordinated, co-located services to include inpatient needs, clinically managed residential services, and outpatient services, especially for those who are unhoused. Almost all mental health and substance use disorder services we have proposed already exist on the campus and have for many years.  Housing stability supports a more effective clinical recovery process, and in particular access to supportive housing is an essential part of the care continuum.

This model – a coordinated, co-located journey to recovery that covers inpatient needs, clinically managed residential services, and outpatient services – is recognized as the standard of care for individuals in recovery (per The American Society of Addiction Medicine). The approach we are proposing is not new, but it uses a more coordinated and cohesive model of care than today’s fragmented system of recovery.

Our team prioritized a significant expansion of publicly accessible open space, with improved, welcoming routes to the park and new pedestrian, bicycle, and transit connections. By limiting above-ground parking, we can develop additional, accessible green space adjacent to the campus – for a total of more than seven dedicated acres of green, pedestrian and plaza space. We hope to collaborate with the community about different types of public amenities and recreation that could be put in this green space.

“Mass & Cass” is not a treatment and recovery program. Rather, it unfortunately represents a manifestation of untreated, unhoused individuals living with both mental illness and substance abuse disorders.

Our proposal creates treatment and recovery programs that work together to address the root causes of mental illness, substance use disorder, and homelessness to prevent another crisis like “Mass and Cass”. Every aspect of the proposal – from the mix of uses, inpatient levels of care, the role of supportive housing, and the clinical programs – allows individuals experiencing homelessness to pursue recovery in a safer, more controlled environment. The clinical programs and housing programs on the site would prioritize longer-term care for people recovering from substance use disorders, with those in acute treatment accounting for less than 10% of the population on site.

At the same time, our Coalition recognize that safety and security on the site must be our top priority, and BMC and the Coalition partners will work with the State, City, and community stakeholders to develop an effective and reliable public safety program.

While the RFP specified a minimum of 75-100 units of supportive housing, the need for supportive housing far exceeds the minimum in the RFP. Because the need for housing overall is so great, the Coalition proposed a level of supportive housing it considered appropriate, including family housing. We anticipate modifications to this plan based on community feedback.

BMC and coalition partners will invest in a comprehensive public safety plan and operations on site and will work in collaboration with public safety officials (including BPD and state officials) on issues related to any public spaces adjacent to the site.  BMC has a strong public safety team and will consult with outside experts and the community in developing a plan based on the final mix of uses approved for the site.

In addition to a site-wide approach, specific security measures will be put in place that correspond to the needs for each program across the site. For example, the supportive housing units will have separate secured and monitored entrances. BMC will provide signage and wayfinding that allows visitors to navigate to their location on the site safely.

Given that we are still in discussions with the Commonwealth about what services and uses should be prioritized in our proposal, the final mix of uses for the site has not yet been determined. The final approach for this site will help determine the specific details of a security plan. We will collaborate with city and state public safety agencies and local community groups to inform a security plan.  We recognize that this is an area of significant community interest and we expect that the security plan would address the detailed questions raised by our neighbors.

This proposal will require a sizable investment on behalf of the Coalition partners, as well as government partners at the City and State level. We expect to contribute philanthropic dollars/private fundraising as well. The Coalition members recognize that this proposal is one piece of a broader solution to address the challenges of addiction and mental illness, often resulting in homelessness.

The Commonwealth and its residents need a range of services across the state to meet the needs of individual patients, create and maintain thriving communities, and to repair the current fragmented system of care. We believe services at Long Island can complement the service mix proposed for the Morton Street Campus.

The Coalition proposal does not include maintaining the temporary cottages currently on the site.

We are currently in the early part of a multiyear, multiphase process of permitting and community feedback. The anticipated timeline below is subject to change:

We appreciate the feedback we have received via two virtual meetings, a community open house, and numerous, ongoing small group and individual meetings and meetings with a number of civic groups. These conversations have yielded useful insights that will be addressed through modifications to our plan.