Cardinal Seán Patrick O'Malley OFM Cap, mayor Thomas Menino and Aaron Gornstein, undersecretary for Housing and Community Development, recently joined the Planning Office for Urban Affairs to celebrate the redevelopment of the former St. Kevin's Parish campus in Upham's Corner in the city. The redevelopment of St. Kevin's is a coordinated effort led by the Planning Office for Urban Affairs, St. Mary's Center for Women and Children and Holy Family Parish, all operating on behalf of the Archdiocese of Boston.
The project will answer a critical need for safe and affordable housing in the city. The former St. Kevin's site will be redeveloped to create 80 units of affordable housing, 25% of which will be for formerly homeless families. St. Mary's Center will provide on-site supportive services to families transitioning to permanent housing. The remaining 75% of the units will be workforce housing to provide affordable apartments for people who serve the community, including teacher's aides, lab technicians, licensed practical nurses, paralegals and restaurant workers.
"The collaboration of the Planning Office for Urban Affairs, St. Mary's Center for Women Children and Holy Family Parish with the City of Boston and our federal and state government will provide much needed affordable housing for this neighborhood," said cardinal O'Malley.
"There have been so many projects over the years in which the city of Boston has partnered with the Archdiocese's Planning Office for Urban Affairs," Menino said. "These projects have not only been catalysts for revitalization, but they have also provided almost 1,500 units of housing in the city. This particular project is so special because it represents a coordinated effort to house some of our most vulnerable families, while reconnecting a now-vacant property to the surrounding area, ensuring vitality and investing real capital into the neighborhood."
Construction will begin this month and the project is scheduled for completion in July 2015. The development will include three multi-story buildings, two newly constructed (35 Bird St. and 530 Columbia Rd.) and the adaptive reuse of one of the existing buildings (516 Columbia Rd.).
"Housing is a cornerstone of our economy and of our local communities," said Aaron Gornstein, undersecretary for the Department of Housing and Community Development. "These 80 new units of housing will not only create jobs here in Dorchester, but also safe, quality apartments for our neighbors. I commend the Planning Office for Urban Affairs for their tremendous commitment to expanding permanent affordable housing in the City of Boston, especially for formerly homeless families."
The development received funding from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the city of Boston, Bank of America, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
"This project was truly a collaborative effort among the Archdiocese, the City of Boston and the Commonwealth," said Lisa Alberghini, president of the Planning Office for Urban Affairs. "We are excited to start building and create much needed affordable housing that will contribute to the vibrancy of this community."
The Planning Office for Urban Affairs, Inc. is a social justice ministry affiliated with the Archdiocese of Boston. The Planning Office strives to create communities through the development of high quality affordable and mixed income housing. As a prominent regional non-profit developer and a leading diocesan housing development ministry for the Catholic Church in America, POUA has completed nearly 2,700 units of affordable and mixed- income housing and has undertaken several neighborhood revitalization initiatives in Mass.