Boston will receiving $20.5M to redevelop the Woodledge/Morrant Bay Apartments and revitalize Dorchester’s Quincy Corridor.
Boston is one of just five cities nationwide to receive the first-ever Implementation Grants awarded under the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development HUD’s Choice Neighborhoods Initiative, a new strategic approach intended to help transform high-poverty, distressed neighborhoods into communities with healthy, affordable housing, safe streets, and access to quality educational opportunities. Boston joins Chicago, New Orleans, San Francisco and Seattle to receive a combined $122 million.
"I’m excited to accept this award and honored that Boston is just one of five cities in the country to be able to use this new approach to revitalizing our most important neighborhoods," Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino said. "This grant will go beyond just providing new housing for residents; it will provide greater opportunity for young people and their parents by implementing placed-based supports, boosting student achievement and creating avenues for families to reach economic prosperity. I’m committed to ensuring that this grant affords our residents tangible results."
"This is a great day for Boston and the countless families who will benefit from the transformation this funding will bring to Dorchester and the surrounding community," said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. "Choice Neighborhoods recognizes that we must link affordable housing with quality schools, public transportation, good jobs and safe streets. This is the next generation of neighborhood revitalization that not only transforms distressed housing, but heals entire communities."
The Department of Neighborhood Development submitted a $20.5 million application for Choice Neighborhood funds from HUD. As part of this application, $12.3 million will assist the redevelopment of the distressed Woodledge/Morrant Bay HUD-assisted housing development. Additionally, $3.075 million will be used for community improvements such as community facilities, parks, gardens, economic development, job creation and asset building. The remaining $3.075 million will be used for supportive services for residents of Quincy Heights and the surrounding Quincy corridor. In a survey, residents expressed the need for job training, educational courses, after-school programming and financial literacy training.
The Woodledge/Morrant Bay development is a scattered-site development comprised of 11 buildings clustered around Quincy Street in Dorchester. The project will be carried out in two separate phases. Quincy Heights 1 will consist of the rehabilitation of 102 units in nine buildings, including reconfiguring small units and reducing the number of units by 22. Quincy Height II will consist of the demolition of two buildings and the construction of 49 new units on three adjacent parcels acquired from the City and one parcel acquired privately. Upon completion, the development will have a total of 129 units, all of which will continue to have project-based Section 8 subsidies.
Along with the city, the grant application is supported by Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corp., Project R.I.G.H.T (Rebuild and Improve Grove Hall Together), the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative (DSNI), the Boston School Department and the city’s Office of Jobs and Community Services (JCS). The entire team will work together to implement the Quincy Corridor Transformation Plan.
