Mayor cites progress in affordable housing

Mayor cites progress in affordable housing

Sarah Curtis

As Mayor Thomas Menino broke ground for a 12-unit complex in Dudley Square before unveiling 70 freshly-renovated homes in Dorchester last weekend, he declared that the city of Boston has officially doubled housing production, in line with his promise in the 1999 State of the City address.

With a bulldozer rising up behind them, representatives from the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative joined Menino, Department of Neighborhood Development director Charlotte Ritchie, and other officials in breaking ground at the future site of the 12-unit Woodward Park Phase II complex on Brookford Street off Blue Hill Avenue.

Afterwards, the group moved to the formerly dilapidated Dorchester Bay complex, where the mayor cut the ribbon on the newly-occupied, 70-unit development, now called Wilder Gardens.

Most of the residents of Dorchester Bay on Wilder Street, said Menino, had lived there their entire lives before the buildings' owners allowed the homes to deteriorate. Eventually, Dorchester Bay E.D.C. and the city stepped in.

"We are halfway to the year 2000, and I am proud to say that we are right on track toward the city's goal of 2000 housing units in the next year," said Menino in front of Wilder Gardens. "I project that we will even exceed this goal. Over 3,000 units are already permitted or in line for a permit.

"These numbers include housing for all incomes, because there is a place in Boston for everyone working hard to make a good life," he added.

The Woodward Park apartments were developed in partnership with the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative.

"DSNI has consistently been able to get land trusts to convert vacant lots into productive community resources, and build homes that people can live in as well as own," said DSNI board member Casimiro Barros. "In organizing, we can own this land together."

Since the mayor's speech this past January, his office estimates that over 2,500 applications for new housing units have been processed, while 970 of these have been granted construction permits. Of that number, around 800 are designed for low- and moderate-income families that earn approximately $47,000 or less for a family of four.

Each unit at Woodward Park cost around $170,000 to $200,000 to build, but will sell at around $100,000, said Herb Riggs, a real estate broker who conducts homebuying classes through DSNI. The contract also stipulates that the homes remain reserved for low-income families, said Riggs.

"These homes will always have a value, people will always be able to resell them," he said. "They may make only a small profit, but then again, they've been able to live in a $200,000 home for ten years or so."

Although Menino last month announced the city would not achieve its goal of creating 2,000 low-cost units by the end of the year, his praises were sung on Saturday.

DSNI board member William Dorcena said, "Sometimes you hear people get up and talk about having a vision, and you think, `Yeah, whatever,'" he said. "But Menino has really made a difference in this community. He doesn't have to be here. But he's here."

DSNI president Greg Watson agreed. "We've been pretty lucky to have a mayor who literally knows the streets. He can probably tell you every sidewalk that needs repair," he said.

"You can have your battles, but I do think we are very lucky to have him."

Photo (Mayor Thomas Menino with Tykla Cousins, Carolyn Cousins, Doris Neil)