WiSe Urban Development and Nuestra Comunidad Development Corp. have completed the historic rehabilitation of Washington Park, an eight-building, 96-unit apartment community in Dorchester and Roxbury.
The 130,000-square-foot rental community on Columbus and Wyoming streets received historic tax credits from the state to help fund the renovations. The complex, which contains 86 affordable units, is owned through a joint venture of Nuestra and Darryl Settles, president of WiSe Urban Development.
The work consisted of in-place rehabilitation of the properties, including renovations of kitchens, bathrooms and living areas and high-efficiency upgrades to HVAC systems. Every unit received new lighting and Energy Star appliances, and all of the buildings’ mechanical and electrical systems were upgraded.
The project employed 390 minority and 50 female workers, comprising 69 percent of the total worker hours. Minority- and women-owned businesses accounted for $7.6 million, or over 65 percent of the total construction costs.
“Creating more affordable housing while maintaining ownership and jobs within the community is a national imperative, and WiSe is honored to work with Nuestra to support this effort,” Settles said in a statement. “Washington Park will serve as quality affordable housing for families of Roxbury and Dorchester for years to come.”
WiSe and Nuestra worked with the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), MassHousing, the city of Boston and the Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC) to secure financing for the project. Private financing was also secured from Bank of America and the Boston Community Loan Fund, and equity financing was provided by Boston Financial Investment Management.
Boston-based WinnCompanies has managed the property for the past 20 years.
"Creating and preserving affordable housing alongside the non-profit community and tenant associations is something that is fundamental to Winn’s way of doing business," WinnCompanies Founder Arthur Winn said in a statement. "Doing so in a way that sets new and higher standards for minority workers and business engagement in the city of Boston makes this that much more meaningful."
The Architectural Team of Chelsea was the project architect and Keith Construction of Canton was the general contractor.
