Boston Acquisition Fund Wins 2026 Ivory Prize For Housing Affordability

National recognition highlights Boston's leadership in preserving affordable housing and preventing displacement.

Mayor Michelle Wu announced that the City's Boston Acquisition Fund has been named the winner of the 2026 Ivory Prize for Housing Affordability in the Finance category, a national award recognizing innovative and scalable solutions to the housing affordability crisis. The award, presented annually by Ivory Innovations, recognizes the Boston Acquisition Fund's role in preserving naturally occurring affordable housing and preventing resident displacement across Boston. Launched in 2024 and supported by a coalition of hospitals, philanthropic partners, and banks, the Boston Acquisition Fund is a public-private revolving loan fund that provides rapid, low-cost acquisition financing to mission-driven developers seeking to preserve existing below-market-rate housing. The Fund is administered by Boston-based non-profit lender Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation.

"We are thrilled to be named alongside innovative communities and organizations, finding ways to solve complex challenges and tackle our housing crisis. This award reflects the strength of Boston's public-private partnerships and our shared work with mission-driven developers to ease displacement pressures and preserve critical affordable housing for thousands of residents," said Mayor Michelle Wu. "We are proud to receive this recognition that affirms our determination that Boston can lead with innovative, scalable solutions for cities facing similar challenges."

The coalition of investors includes the City of Boston, Mass General Brigham, the Boston Foundation, the Barr Foundation, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston Medical Center, Dana Farber Cancer Center, Beth Israel Lahey Health, Tufts Medical Center, First Citizens Bank, Housing Ministries of New England, Eastern Bank Foundation, and the Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation.

Since the launch, the $45 million fund has supported the acquisition of 435 homes in Roxbury, Dorchester, Roslindale, and Mattapan, permanently stabilizing rent for over 1,000 households.

The Fund builds on and complements the success of the City's Acquisition Opportunity Program (AOP), which continues to provide City subsidy to support these acquisitions. Through that program, the City has supported the acquisition preservation of more than 1,400 affordable homes and created a proven framework for anti-displacement housing strategies in Boston's rapidly changing neighborhoods.

The Boston Acquisition Fund significantly expands and strengthens the City's AOP program by providing a flexible, revolving source of capital that can move at the speed of the private market. By offering below-market financing with streamlined underwriting, the Fund gives developers the ability to act quickly when affordable properties become available, helping preserve naturally occurring affordable housing that might otherwise be lost. As loans are repaid, funds are recycled into future preservation projects, creating a long-term and sustainable preservation tool that can support multiple generations of affordable housing investments.

"The Boston Acquisition Fund has created a practical and replicable financing model that helps preserve affordability at a time when many communities are struggling with displacement pressures," said Chief of Housing Sheila A. Dillon. "This award highlights the strength of partnership between the City, nonprofit developers, lenders, and institutional partners and demonstrates how Boston continues to evolve and strengthen our housing preservation efforts to meet today's challenges."

The 2026 Ivory Prize winners will be honored in person at the annual Ivory Prize Summit, a national convening that gathers entrepreneurs, academics, policymakers and industry leaders to collaborate and learn about the most impactful housing affordability solutions. This year's Ivory Prize Summit will take place Oct. 14-15, in Tempe, Arizona.

About the Mayor's Office of Housing

The mission of the Mayor's Office of Housing (MOH) is to foster healthy, vibrant, and welcoming communities for all by ensuring stable, green, accessible housing and sustainable use of land. The MOH achieves this by creating and preserving income-restricted housing, supporting residents in buying and maintaining their homes, and developing housing policies that promote access and long-term stability. MOH also works to prevent evictions, implements housing solutions for people experiencing homelessness, and works to make Boston's housing stock healthy, resilient, and environmentally sustainable. For more information, please visit the MOH website.

About Ivory Innovations

Ivory Innovations is an academic center based at the University of Utah dedicated to catalyzing innovation in housing affordability. The organization works with students, entrepreneurs and experts to source, support, and scale the most promising housing solutions nationwide. Ivory Innovations also puts innovation into practice through its foundation arm, which has more than 1,500 affordable housing units under development in Utah. To learn more, visit ivoryinnovations.org.

• Published by: Housing