Boston Housing Authority facilities across the city of Boston will now undergo $63 million worth of energy efficiency upgrades, thanks to a newly signed project labor agreement.
The project labor agreement (PLA) between Ameresco, the Building and Construction Trades Council of the Metropolitan District (MBBTC) and the Boston Housing Authority (BHA), is the first public housing PLA of its kind since President Barack Obama signed an executive order encouraging the use of PLAs in connection with large-scale construction projects.
The project, which was first announced about a year ago, will affect approximately 4,300 apartments in 13 federal developments throughout Boston and is expected to save the taxpayers more than $56 million over a 20-year period. The following developments are included in the project: Bromley Park and Heath Street in Jamaica Plain, Commonwealth and Washington Street in Brighton, Franklin Field and Pasciucco in Dorchester, Holgate and Whittier Street in Roxbury, Lenox Street in the South End/Lower Roxbury, Old Colony in South Boston, Roslyn Apartments in Roslindale, Torre Unidad in the South End and the Charlestown development in Charlestown.
Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino was joined by Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan, BHA Administrator Bill McGonagle, Ameresco President and CEO George Sakellaris and Boston Building Trades Council President Martin Walsh to unveil the project.
"In this economy we need agreements like this to keep construction going, get people trained and working," Menino said. "I’m proud to be able to create good paying union jobs for Boston residents."
"Boston’s Project Labor Agreement will create hundreds of jobs for local union workers, public housing residents and small and minority owned businesses, which is exactly why the Obama administration is actively supporting these agreements across the country as a key step to winning the future," Donovan said.
In addition, the agreement creates a groundbreaking pre-apprenticeship program – funded in part by a $60,000 contribution from Ameresco and a $35,000 contribution from the mayor’s Office of Jobs and Community Services – that will be open to BHA public housing and Section 8 residents, YouthBuild eligible participants and very low-income Boston residents. Graduates who successfully complete the pre-apprenticeship training will be given direct entry slots into apprenticeship opportunities through the Building and Construction Trades Council.
