On Bunker Hill Day, BHA seeks proposals to redevelop the Bunker Hill public housing development

On Bunker Hill Day, BHA seeks proposals to redevelop the Bunker Hill public housing development

RFP next step in resident and community process regarding long-term preservation of affordable housing at Bunker Hill

Boston, MA- Today the BHA issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) inviting developers to submit redevelopment proposals to preserve and rebuild existing affordable housing at the Bunker Hill public housing development.  The issuance of the RFP comes as BHA is seeking ways to upgrade and make sustainable its affordable housing communities in the wake of historic federal budget cuts.

“It’s imperative that we think outside the box to preserve our existing affordable housing as well as develop new housing to meet the future housing needs of all of our city’s residents,” said Mayor Martin J. Walsh. “I’m excited because this project has the potential to meet the housing needs of people from a broad spectrum of economic backgrounds.”

The BHA has selected Bunker Hill as one of the initial candidates for which to issue an RFP due to current market conditions and the potential opportunity for the preservation or replacement of all of the existing 1100 very low income units in the development with little or no public subsidy.   The potential for adding additional units to create a mixed income development would add both affordable workforce and market rate apartments, which BHA hopes would generate additional income to help sustain the low income units over the long term.  The creation of additional market rate and workforce housing will also further Mayor Walsh’s goal of creating 53,000 new units of housing by 2030. 

“We look forward to receiving creative ideas that will preserve and protect our affordable housing resources for the future,” said BHA Administrator Bill McGonagle.  “We are proceeding in this manner to ensure that our current residents and future residents of the city in need of affordable housing have this valuable resource to call home for generations to come.”

BHA staff recently met with residents of the development as well as members of the surrounding Charlestown community before issuing the RFP.  Also prior to this issuance, BHA issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) in November, 2014 asking the non-profit and for-profit development community for ideas about how to preserve public housing units with decreased reliance on federal subsidy, which has been shrinking for many years.  There is a copy of the RFQ and more information on the BHA’s funding situation in our Five-Year Plan on the BHA’s website.

“The residents of the Bunker Hill public housing development are looking forward to working with the BHA and a future developer to improve and preserve our housing for the future,” said Betty Carrington, President of the Charlestown Tenant Task Force.  “We are excited to start working on designs with the community.”

BHA expects to have responses back from developers by late summer.  A selection committee comprised of residents of the Bunker Hill public housing development and BHA staff will review the proposals and select a developer.  BHA and the selected developer will hold a series of resident and community meetings, as well as design charrettes as part of an open, public, neighborhood planning process that is expected to begin this fall. 

It is the BHA’s intent to preserve its public housing portfolio and to protect existing residents.  The BHA expects to issue a handful of additional RFPs in the near future after completing a resident and community process for respective sites.  The BHA will solicit proposals which may offer opportunities to use a new construction approach or which involve both new construction and renovation. 

An informational only copy of the RFP without supporting documents as well as the full RFP with all supporting documents is available for download from the BHA’s website under News.  The RFP is also available in the public library in Charlestown at 179 Main Street.

Proposer submission copies of the RFP MUST be obtained directly from the BHA’s Procurement Department.  The RFP is available to proposers for free via e-mail request to bids@bostonhousing.org, or in hardcopy form for a $100 fee from the BHA Contract Unit at the 6th Floor, 52 Chauncy Street, Boston, MA  02111 starting June 17, 2015.  The RFP Package shall be mailed to prospective respondents upon request for an additional $15.00 fee. 

  

All proposals must be received by Friday August 14, 2015 at 2:00 pm at the Boston Housing Authority, Procurement Dept., 6th Floor, 52 Chauncy Street, Boston, MA 02111.  Interested developers may subscribe to the BHA’s electronic mailing list to receive future bid notices.

MAYOR WALSH JOINS JOHN HANCOCK, CORPORATE AND CIVIC LEADERS TO ​LAUNCH YOUTH INITIATIVES

MAYOR WALSH JOINS JOHN HANCOCK, CORPORATE AND CIVIC LEADERS TO ​LAUNCH YOUTH INITIATIVES

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New Effort Will Target 11-14-Year-Olds, Kicks Off MLK Summer Scholars Teen Jobs Program

BOSTON— Tuesday, June 16, 2015 - Mayor Martin J. Walsh today joined John Hancock President Craig Bromley, hundreds of Boston Public School (BPS) students, and corporate and civic leaders to announce a new initiative to stem youth violence and to kick off the annual MLK Summer Scholars teen jobs program.

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“We must create opportunities to nurture at-risk young people as they enter the critical first years of adolescence,” said Mayor Walsh. “I am proud of our work with John Hancock, the

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Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston’s YouthConnect program to give more of our young people the chance to embrace their future in a positive way.”

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Stemming Youth Violence

Mayor Walsh announced a public/private partnership led by the Mayor’s Public Safety Initiative with John Hancock and Boys & Girls Club of Boston's Youth Connect program that is aimed at stemming youth violence by providing clinical case management and positive youth development opportunities for high-risk youth.

"The Mayor’s Office of Public Safety Initiatives would like to thank John Hancock and Youth Connect for helping to support the Mayor’s vision of giving opportunity and access to all youth in particular the 11-14 year old population- too old for camp and too young for employment," said Dan Mulhern, Director of the Mayor's Office of Public Safety Initiatives. "We recognize that Public Safety is multi-faceted and providing this opportunity is a part of that. Prevention efforts are key and this partnership will offer mentorship, a variety of support services and most importantly to empower and cultivate our future leaders."


The program, which will be funded by John Hancock, will serve approximately 50 at-risk males and females ranging from 11-14-years-old per year.

The focus of the program will be to reduce risky behaviors to increase positive decision-making skills, while creating opportunities to increase self-awareness and confidence through the acquisition of leadership and work-readiness skills.  

The initiative is based off of the Summer of Opportunity program, which was first launched in 1994 as a unique public-private partnership between John Hancock, the Mayor of Boston and the Boston Police Department in response to the youth violence epidemic.

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Providing Meaningful Job Experience and Life Lessons for Teens

The Mayor also kicked off the eighth year of the company’s MLK Summer Jobs Program, a major component of the Mayor’s Summer Jobs Program and the City’s efforts to employ Boston youth. John Hancock’s MLK Summer Jobs Program employs more than 600 Boston teens annually.


"John Hancock's MLK Summer Scholars’ Program understands the critical need for us, as business and community leaders, to take the lead in providing our City youth with meaningful opportunities,” said Mayor Walsh. “I am thankful for the collaborative efforts of all of our partners to shape the future of Boston in this way."

Mayor Walsh has made youth summer employment a priority, challenging businesses to partner with the City to increase employment opportunities for Boston's youth. In conjunction with the Mayor’s Summer Jobs Program, John Hancock works in close partnership with 

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he Boston Globe, Boston University and Partners HealthCare to offer the unique MLK Summer Scholars program.

Mayor Walsh addressed hundreds of teens at a kick-off event today at John Hancock’s headquarters in South Boston. The event also included a motivational appearance by former Celtics player Dana Barros, who urged the participants to work hard and do their part to support their communities. Following the speaking program, the teens participated in an interactive exercise, engaging one-on-one with Barros

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 business and civic leaders, and each other.

This summer, the $1 million plus program will employ more than 600 Scholars who will work at more than 70 non-profit agencies in neighborhoods throughout the City. Along with gaining valuable paid work experience, the Scholars also attend a series of life skills workshops. Today’s kick-off served as the first workshop of the summer.

“John Hancock has long believed that it is critically important to our community and our business that young people gain meaningful employment skills at an early age," said Hancock’s Bromley. “We are pleased to continue working with our partners at the City, The Boston Globe, Boston University, and Partners HealthCare to offer this unique personal and professional leadership development program."

“Young people are our future workforce,” said David Torchiana, MD, President and CEO of Partners HealthCare. “Our relationship with John Hancock and the MLK Scholars Program is exactly what we need to be doing – giving young people great educational and professional opportunities so that they are prepared to be our community’s next workforce.”

“The Boston Globe is a proud supporter of the MLK Summer Scholars program which introduces Boston’s corporate and non-profit community to a new generation of talented young Bostonians,” said Linda Pizzuti Henry, Boston Globe Managing Director. “These students are the city's future and summer jobs provide them an opportunity to learn effective job skills including problem solving, reliability, customer service and high-quality task completion – valuable work experience that will prepare these future leaders."

"There are few better investments we can make in our future than affording young people opportunities to work and learn as they develop skills essential to their academic and professional careers. MLK Summer Scholars performs a remarkable service providing these enriching experiences, and Boston University is proud to continue its support of this terrific program,” said Jean Morrison, University Provost and Chief Academic Officer for Boston University.

For more information on MLK Summer Scholars, please visit www.mlksummerscholars.com

美中藥協第17屆年會探討轉化醫學 瞭解藥明康德

     

       美中醫藥開發協會紐英崙分會（SAPANE）13日 舉行第17屆年會，探討轉化醫學改善病人健康的研究與應用。多家中國企業派高管出席，力邀近400名與會者回中國就業，既彰顯大波士頓在美國的醫藥重鎮地位，也透露中國對醫藥人才需求更加孔急訊息。

        美中藥協紐英崙分會在麻省理工學院王氏禮堂（Wang Auditorium）舉行的本屆年會，主題為"轉化醫學前沿：通過組學突破來改善病人健康（The Frontline of Translational Medicine: Breaking through Omics to Improve Patient Health Outcomes）"，由候任會長梁桂清出任會議主席，籌辦團隊不下三十餘人，安排有三場講座，一場論壇，以及晚宴演講。

         最近這一，兩年在波士頓動作頻仍，先設辦公室，接著收購公司的藥明康德，是美中藥協這場年會的最主要贊助者。包括藥明康德財務長胡正國，DMPK執行總監王健瓴，資深人事主任邢紹國分別應邀講談。

         胡正國以“無錫藥明康德為生命科學及健康醫療產業打造科技及能力平台的夢想“的主題，強調現在正是前所未有的轉型創新最佳時機。他以在線醫療產業鏈圖譜為例，指出不論是大數據，雲端科技， 物聯網（Internet of Things）或人工智能，所有的企業界線都在數位科學的發展衍進中模糊了。若以美國藥物管理局（FDA）批准數量作為創新產出的關鍵指數，2014年的批准41個新分子實體（molecular entity），打破歷年紀錄。

         由於藥明康德是中國內唯一獲得美國，歐洲，加拿大，瑞士，澳洲及新西蘭法規機構准許生產創新活性藥物成分（API）的CMO公司，胡正國指出，該公司正全力打造平台，要藉由和全世界合作，產製更好醫藥，更快的帶給中國病人。

        北京昭衍新藥研究中心首席科學家姚大林的發出英雄帖，使他備受矚目。他表示該公司現有員工六百人，計畫在短期內成長到有一千五百人，歡迎任何打算回中國就業者，拿張名片，回中國找他。

        今年才和人合夥創辦“麻州創新實驗室”的朱鵬程，在講座中回答“如何打破中美合作障礙”時表示，文化差異不是問題，他的打動兩名合夥人共籌一千萬元資金，創辦實驗室，就全靠誠信。

         美中藥協紐英崙分會現任會長趙南丁當晚和前任會長鍾曉天，鈄理強，候任會長梁桂清等人，一起頒發了終生服務獎表揚該會顧問苟大明，頒傑出服務獎表揚鮑興峰，蔡凌希，陳大鵬，龍江，田曉宇會員等人。

         該會當晚還頒發獎學金給菲利普學校（Phillips Exeter Academy）的雷京澄，波士頓拉丁學校的戚萌，Alganquin區域高中的丁杰瑞等三名高中生。

美中藥協年會的三場講座，依序為：

          第一場講座的主題為“轉化醫學策略與實務”。Imclon創辦人Samuel Waksai闡述了“科學創新在企業及學術界扮演的角色”，夏爾（Shire）製藥發現療法主管Clark Pan討論“把研究轉化為醫藥時，分子工程扮演了核心角色“，哈佛醫學院教授吳浩（譯音，Hao Wu）談“從基礎科學到轉化影響的高階超分子信號傳導複合體”，諾華蒂（Novartis）生物醫藥研究院的策略聯盟全球主管H. Martin Seidel談“諾華蒂在創新上的策略性興趣”。

           第二場講座，主題為“下一代醫藥的發現及發展”。Vertex製藥創辦人，Alkeus製藥公司執行主席Joshua Boger談“隱性單基因疾病看似簡單-治療囊性纖維化的全面方法“，賽諾菲（Sanofi）健贊(Genzyme)公司罕見疾病早期發展研究主管Seng Cheng談“左撇子及相關疾病的治療策略”。

            第三場講座的主題為“生物科技公司和研究合約公司（CRO）在轉化醫學發展中的角色及影響“。In Vitro ADMET實驗室執行長李百雄談“藥物開發上的創新人類肝細胞科技”，NovoDiax執行長王健夫談“把治療性抗體轉化成精密診斷工具”。

            論壇的主題“轉化醫學發展的科技及合作”。海克威爾基因研究院海外董事長鈄理強，北京昭衍新藥首席科學家姚大林，麻州創新實驗室董事長朱鵬程等人。

            在晚宴中，藥明康德資深人事主任邢紹國介紹藥明康德全球員工逾九千人，已進波士頓設辦公室拓展業務，並收購了波士頓本地NextCode，正致力打造新平台等概況； DMPK執行總監王健瓴綜述他吉林大學畢業，1995加入諾華蒂，將近一年前加入藥明康德的過程，透露回中國是因為那是個可以創造不同，有所影響的地方。其中一大收穫，是得以慶祝母親九十歲生日。

           

圖片說明：

            美中藥協紐英崙分會（SAPANE）會長趙南丁（右起），候任會長梁桂清頒獎表揚服務傑出幹部，苟大明，孫天霄，馬炳莉，陳大鵬，鮑幸峰，蔡凌希，龍江。一起頒獎的前會長鍾曉天，鈄理強。（菊子攝）

            講座主持人龍江（右一），孫天霄（左一起）頒獎感謝講者，藥明康德的王健瓴，邢紹國。（菊子攝）

            美中藥協會長趙南丁（左一），候任會長梁桂清（右一起）邀藥明康德財務長胡正國頒發獎學金給戚萌，雷京澄，丁瑞杰。（菊子攝）

            美中藥協候任會長梁桂清（左起），會長趙南丁與嘉賓，藥明康德人事主任朱隽雯，財務長胡正國，藥協前會長鍾曉天，鈄理強等人在晚宴會場合影。（菊子攝）

            美中藥協會長趙南丁（後左起），前會長鈄理強，和講者朱鵬程，黃月梅（譯音），王健夫，姚大林，藥協前會長鍾曉天，以及該會幹部合影。（菊子攝）

            北京昭衍新藥研究中心首席科學家姚大林（左）和藥協蔡凌希，回應會議出席者提問。（菊子攝）