Boston Mayor Michelle Wu awarded a $254 million housing development contract to a firm linked to Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley’s husband, Conan Harris, raising concerns over political favoritism and lack of transparency in city contracting. Harris is listed as a partner and investor in DREAM Development, one of the companies selected to build hundreds of housing units on public land in Roxbury. The deal was quietly awarded in April 2024 and has now come under scrutiny following reports of community opposition and unanswered questions about how the contract was secured.
The project, backed by the Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA), will develop parking lots owned by the Boston Water and Sewer Commission into roughly 400 housing units. DREAM Development and Related Beal were selected as the primary development partners. Harris’s financial interest in DREAM Development links the lucrative public contract directly to the household of a sitting member of Congress.
Public records show Harris’s name listed on DREAM Development’s business filings. Wu defended the deal as being in the public interest, calling it “a public good.” However, members of the Roxbury community have voiced strong opposition, saying their input was ignored and that the zoning board pushed the project through despite local concerns.
The development raises broader questions about how political connections influence major city projects. Harris, a former senior advisor to Mayor Marty Walsh and founder of a consulting firm, stands to profit directly from a deal brokered by Boston’s current Democratic leadership. Pressley, a prominent member of the far-left “Squad” in Congress, has long positioned herself as a champion of equity and fairness, making the silence from her office on this matter particularly notable.
Critics argue the deal represents a clear conflict of interest, as it involves taxpayer-funded land and city resources benefiting someone closely tied to an elected official. The lack of transparency and the involvement of a high-profile political spouse has prompted calls for further investigation and reform in the city’s procurement processes.
