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BOSTON
- Friday, October 23, 2020 - Mayor Martin J. Walsh joined the Boston
Housing Authority (BHA) and community partners Preservation of Affordable
Housing (POAH) and MassHousing to celebrate the first grand opening at the
award-winning Flat 9 at Whittier, Phase One of the redevelopment of the
Whittier Street Apartments in Roxbury, a public housing community which
first opened in 1953.
Once all three phases are completed, the redevelopment will replace 200
existing public housing rental apartments with 210 deeply affordable units,
and create 262 additional units of mixed-income rental housing. The
redevelopment of the Whittier Street public housing development will also
create 14,000 square feet of commercial space.
"As
we shape Boston's growth, we must make sure our progress benefits everyone,
especially long-term residents of the City," said Mayor Walsh. "I'm
incredibly proud of the dedication of our partners who have come together
to create a brighter future for the residents of Whittier Street and the
surrounding neighborhood."
The
celebration also marks the groundbreaking of Phase Two of the transformative
redevelopment at Tremont, Ruggles and Whittier Streets. Due to concerns
over in-person events, the development partners released a 5-minute Virtual Ribbon Cutting &
Tour video to mark the occasion.
"Our
resident leaders, BHA staff and Roxbury neighbors fought hard to secure a
bright new future for the Whittier community," said BHA Administrator
Kate Bennett. "This was a hard-earned triumph that will set the
foundation for hundreds of low income families to live and thrive in
Roxbury for decades to come."
The
redevelopment is made possible by a $30 million federal Choice
Neighborhoods Initiative grant awarded by the Obama Administration. The BHA
and City of Boston's Department of Neighborhood Development will leverage
ten times that amount in private and public funds for commercial and
residential development and public facilities in the Whittier neighborhood.
Phase
One, which commenced in 2018, included the demolition of 68 apartments and
the construction of 92 new mixed-income apartments in three new buildings
at the original Whittier site. Phase One includes a new management office,
community room, and outdoor recreational space. Offsite, Phase One created
76 additional new mixed-income apartments, including 43 BHA-replacement
units, nearby in Madison Park Village that were completed last summer by
Madison Park Development Corporation.
In
order to achieve complete replacement of all 200 original units of public
housing, the redevelopment will create 210 new deeply subsidized
units-one-for-one replacement on a bedroom-by-bedroom basis-through the
Section 8 Project-Based Voucher program.
Whittier
Choice Housing Phase Two, which is currently under construction, will
create 52 mixed-income units, including 24 BHA replacement units.
Forty-eight of the units will be restricted for renters earning 30%, 50%,
60%, 80%, and 110% of Area Median Income, along with 4 market units. The
remainder of the BHA site will be redeveloped as Phase 3. The entire
Whittier redevelopment is expected to be completed by 2021.
"Flat
9 at Whittier is the result of an extensive collaboration between the
community, public housing residents, the Boston Housing Authority, Madison
Park Development Corporation and POAH," said Rodger Brown, POAH
Managing Director, Real Estate Development. "The three phase
development reflects the vision of a mixed-income community that celebrates
the vibrant diversity of Boston and the Roxbury neighborhood."
"This
latest milestone in the revitalization of the Whittier Street neighborhood
provides 52 new affordable homes and economic opportunity for households in
Roxbury across a range of incomes," said MassHousing Executive
Director Chrystal Kornegay. "Having a quality place to call home is
crucial for the success and prosperity of these families at Flat 9 and
MassHousing was very pleased to collaborate again with the City of Boston,
the BHA, POAH, the Whittier tenants, and all the other partners involved in
this transformative project ."
The
newly named Flat 9 at Whittier housing
development is part of the larger neighborhood of Roxbury, with an area
of roughly one square mile and 2,418 households. The Whittier Street
Apartments were over 60 years old, and the HUD Choice Neighborhood grant has
allowed the property to be transformed into a mixed income and mixed-use
development that will be an asset to the greater Roxbury neighborhood in
the long-term. Flat 9 was also the winner
of the 2020 Charles L. Edson Tax Credit Excellence Award in the HUD Housing
Preservation Category earlier this year.
The
new name, "Flat 9 at Whittier," which was chosen with resident
participation, is a reference to a distinctive jazz chord and honors the
musical history of Roxbury.
The Whittier Choice partnership is led by
the Boston Housing Authority, the City of Boston's Department of
Neighborhood Development, the Whittier Street Tenant Task Force,
Preservation of Affordable Housing, Madison Park Development Corporation,
and EMPath (Economic Mobility Pathways). The grant incorporates strategies
for Neighborhood, Housing, and People as a way to provide a coordinated
transformation for the community in and around the original housing
development footprint.
- The Neighborhood Strategy seeks
to break down barriers that isolate residents, to promote physical and
social connections, and to link the neighborhood to the regional
economy. There is a priority focus on creating a livelier streetscape,
including a vibrant pedestrian corridor along Ruggles Street.
- The Housing Strategy aims to
preserve affordability while creating a better balance of housing
options in the neighborhood. This plan creates a livable site with
outdoor play spaces, a mix of building types to accommodate diverse
family needs, and new through-streets to re-integrate the site into
the broader neighborhood.
- The People Strategy addresses a
range of priority needs among public housing residents: income
and asset building, health, education, and youth development. At
the center, EMPath will provide counseling and personal coaching
through its intensive Mobility Mentoring™ model. Boston Housing
Authority, in partnership with EMPath and local service providers,
relocation counselors, property management staff, and resident leaders
will connect residents to new and existing services and newly
leveraged programs in the community.
ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT OF NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT (DND)
The
Department of Neighborhood Development is responsible for housing the
homeless, developing affordable housing, and ensuring that renters and
homeowners can find, maintain, and stay in their homes. As part of the
ongoing coronavirus response, the Office of Housing Stability is also
conducting tenant's rights workshops to educate residents about the
eviction moratorium and their rights. The Boston Home Center continues to
provide down payment assistance to first-time homebuyers and home repairs
for seniors and low-income residents. The Supportive Housing Division is
working with various partners around the city to rapidly house individuals
who are experiencing homelessness.
ABOUT THE BOSTON
HOUSING AUTHORITY (BHA)
Boston Housing Authority (BHA) provides affordable housing to more than
58,000 residents in and around the City of Boston. Residents are assisted
through a combination of public housing and federal and state voucher
subsidy programs that provide a wide variety of housing opportunities. As
the largest public housing authority in New England, the BHA houses close
to 9 percent of the city's residents. Our mission is to provide stable,
quality affordable housing for low and moderate-income persons; to deliver
these services with integrity and mutual accountability, and to create
living environments that serve as catalysts for the transformation from
dependency to economic self-sufficiency.
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