Officials have broken ground on a new development that will bring 47 new homes for moderate-income and first-time homebuyers in Boston. 

Construction is officially underway for the Northampton Street Residences in the South End, a project approved by the Boston Planning & Development Agency in September 2022. 

Developer THR Acquisition LLC, an affiliate of Transom Real Estate and Harbor Run Development, is converting a former parking lot at 597-599 Columbus Ave. into 47 home ownership units in a newly built, five-story building. These units will be a mix of 16 studio homes, 19 one-bedroom homes, seven two-bedroom homes and five three-bedroom homes. 

One home will be handicapped accessible. The transit-oriented development will also include community space and bike storage. 

Boston’s planning chief Arthur Jemison said by offering affordable homeownership opportunities to area residents, these future homes “represent the kind of positive investment we want to see in Boston.”

“More than four years in the making, this project will fulfill area planning and community goals,” Jemison said. “I am pleased to mark this milestone of transforming a parking lot into much-needed income-restricted housing.”

The project is being financed through MassHousing’s CommonWealth Builder Program, Eastern Bank and the Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation (MHIC) Healthy Neighborhood Equity Fund II. 

“The CommonWealth Builder Program is one of the state’s most powerful tools to help promote homeownership,” said Ed Augustus, executive office of housing and livable communities secretary. “The 47 units that will result from this project are just the beginning – the Governor’s recently proposed Affordable Homes Act authorizes an additional $100 million for CommonWealth Builder to support even more homeownership opportunities in communities of color across the state.”