Boston Mayor Wu Handed Multi-Million Dollar Deal To Ayanna Pressley’s Husband

Massachusetts Democrat Rep. Ayanna Pressley’s husband, Conan Harris, won a multimillion-dollar project contract for his company courtesy of Democratic Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.

The Boston Planning Department awarded DREAM Development a 400-unit housing project in April 2024. Harris, who served over a decade in prison for drug trafficking, is listed as a partner and investor in DREAM Development, and stands to benefit from the $250 million deal, Mass Daily News first reported.

“They basically step by step crammed this down the community who opposes it,” one source familiar with the matter told the Mass Daily News. “And the BPDA and Zoning Board rubber-stamp it without addressing community concerns. Probably due to who the developer is.”

The Boston Planning and Development Agency designated DREAM Development and Related Beal as co-developers to turn the Boston Water and Sewer Commission’s parking lots in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston into affordable housing. The firm’s proposal put the project’s total development cost at $254 million.

Also listed as an investor in DREAM Development is John Barros, who served as chief of economic development for the City of Boston between 2014 and 2021, according to his LinkedIn profile