Brookline Housing Authority executive director Michael Alperin is departing from his position after a tenure which saw major growth for the town’s public housing agency.
Alperin, who has led BHA since 2020, is moving on to what he called a “new, socially driven affordable housing venture focused on New England.” Leading BHA, he said, was “one of the great honors and privileges of my life.”
In the four years since his arrival, BHA’s budget has more than doubled from $24 million to $52 million, and the agency expanded its use of Section 8 vouchers while pursuing major redevelopment projects.
Funded mostly by state and federal dollars, the BHA now owns and manages over 1,000 affordable housing units in Brookline, and subsidizes 500 more. It houses 3,400 people a year.
Still Alperin says the BHA has many challenges ahead, including adding more units in buildings that the housing authority is building or redeveloping on Walnut Street, Marion Street and elsewhere.
Alperin says he is proud of work he did with BHA residents, bringing in more services like nursing, fitness classes or mental health support. One small but emblematic change he made was to move away from calling buildings by their historic names, and instead using their physical addresses.
“The feedback from residents was that they felt different because our buildings are named after historic people, much like schools … but it’s not the nomenclature they use,” he said.
Alperin, who was a Town Meeting member before joining the BHA, said that he does not see Brookline as anti-development, despite its long-standing reputation. Support for public housing has come from across the political spectrum in town, he said.
“People do care about thoughtfully constructing new housing in Brookline, and realize that it has become somewhat crazy how unaffordable housing has become for most people in Brookline,” he said. “Brookline is doing a lot more to facilitate its local housing authority doing great development work than other communities.”
Michael Jacobs, the chair of BHA’s Board of Commissioners, said that Alperin is going to be a “hard act to follow.”
“Michael is a consummate leader. He hired great staff, he has a strong understanding of development, and he worked well with residents. He had strong relationships with town and state officials and great relationships with the commissioners,” Jacobs said.
BHA is currently undergoing a national search for its next director, and is in the process of interviewing candidates, said Jacobs.