Wu taps affordable housing developer to BPDA board

Politics admin July 8, 2026 0 Comments

Wu taps affordable housing developer to BPDA board

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has tapped Felicia Jacques, principal developer and manager of affordable housing firm Maloney Development LLC, to join the Boston Planning and Development Agency board.

If the City Council approves her appointment, Jacques would become the first Black woman to serve on the city’s powerful five-member development review board. She would take the position vacated by Theodore “Ted” Landsmark, who retired from the board this spring after a dozen years.

“I am honored to take this appointment to support Mayor Wu’s goals to increase the creative built environment that meets at the intersection of planning, urban design and architecture and community,” Jacques said in a statement.

Maloney Development’s portfolio includes Franklin Highlands apartments, a 270-unit family-oriented complex just outside Franklin Park, and Morville House, a 175-unit affordable housing community for seniors in the Fenway, among others. Several Maloney properties have been part of the city’s affordable housing lottery, which is overseen by the mayor’s Office of Housing.

Jacques has two decades of experience in development and zoning, and was previously the Northeast regional director for Boston-based nonprofit housing developer The Community Builders Inc. She has previously chaired Boston’s Community Preservation Committee and the Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association, served on the Boston Landmarks Commission, and was treasurer for Historic Boston Inc.

“Felicia brings decades of direct housing leadership and civic involvement to a role that will further advance our efforts to oversee development, support housing production, and preserve the history and vibrancy of our neighborhoods,” Wu said in a statement.

The city of Boston no longer brands its quasi-public real estate arm as the BPDA; the City Hall organizationis now known as the Planning Department. The BPDA board, meanwhile, still exists to oversee decisions made by the Boston Redevelopment Authority and the Economic Development and Industrial Corp. of Boston — two legal entities that remain active despite Wu’s petitioning the state Legislature to abolish them.

Four of its five members are appointed by the mayor of Boston, while the fifth is named by the governor.Jacques would be the third board member named by Wu since she took office in 2021.

Former Boston city councilor Matt O’Malley is Governor Maura Healey’s appointee to the BPDA board, while Wu has appointed Kate Bennett, formerly the administrator of the Boston Housing Authority, and Raheem Shepard, the regional manager of the North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters.

Kairos Shen, a longtime planning official under late former mayor Thomas Menino who Wu brought back to City Hall in 2024 as Boston’s planning chief, said Jacques “would be a wonderful addition” to the board.

“Not only is she deeply familiar with the development review process in her current role with Maloney Development, but her involvement on various historic and community preservation boards and committees in the city shows her dedication to ensuring Boston continues to be built thoughtfully and pragmatically,” Shen said in a statement.