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Contact: Lydia Agro, Communications Director, 617-988-4109
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Trinity East Boston Partners get unanimous vote to redevelop East Boston site |
Trinity East Boston Partners has been tentatively designated the developer of the Boston Housing Authority’s Maverick Gardens housing development in East Boston. The designation came after an extensive public process in which three development teams submitted proposals. The selection committee consisted of two Maverick residents and five BHA staff members. The decision of the selection committee to choose Trinity was unanimous.
“I am extremely pleased that we will be working with Trinity Financial in redeveloping yet another of the BHA’s housing developments,” said BHA Administrator Sandra B. Henriquez. “They did an outstanding job redeveloping the Orchard Gardens site and I look forward to working in partnership with them and the East Boston Community Development Corporation in this new venture.”
Trinity East Boston Partners is a partnership between Trinity Financial, Inc. and the East Boston Community Development Corporation. Maverick will be redeveloped by the Trinity team in partnership with the BHA. Other development teams that submitted proposals were Maverick Gardens Collaborative (a partnership of the Community Builders and the Neighborhood of Affordable Housing Community Development Corporation) and Harborview Square Partners, LLC, which includes Edward A. Fish Associates, LLC.
“We are very excited to have chosen a developer for this project,” said Ellie Saraceni, a member of the selection committee and of the Maverick Tenants Organization. “Trinity’s proposal is excellent and we are happy to have reached another milestone in the redevelopment of Maverick Gardens.”
The Boston Housing Authority was awarded $35 million under the federal HOPE VI Program last fall to redevelop the Maverick Gardens housing development in East Boston. The development agreement will allow the development of 396 new units of housing. The BHA expects the redevelopment to begin early next year. The new units will accommodate families at a range of incomes with 80 percent of the new units slated for public housing tenants and 20 percent for market rate tenants. The HOPE VI award will be supplemented by financial commitments from the Boston Housing Authority, the City of Boston, the state and private sources.
Built in 1941, Maverick is one of the BHA’s oldest developments. As a result, the housing at Maverick is generally obsolete and seriously distressed. With the awarding of a HOPE VI grant, the BHA will be able to undertake demolition and a comprehensive redevelopment that includes making major improvements in the design of the site.
In addition to the new housing, a Community and Supportive Services Program will include individual case management, employment and computer training, adult learning, and youth programs that will be provided through collaborations with an extensive network of local service providers and employers.
Current Maverick residents will have a number of options regarding relocation and return so that all residents will be able to remain in affordable housing. In order to prepare for relocation and offer residents as much flexibility as possible, Maverick residents will be offered their choice of temporary and permanent relocation to other public housing developments throughout the city or a Section 8 Voucher. Elderly residents will have the choice to enter one of the BHA’s elderly housing developments that specifically provide services for the elderly population. The BHA anticipates that a substantial majority of current Maverick residents who wish to return to Maverick after redevelopment will be able to. Residents will receive supportive assistance throughout the relocation process.
By reconnecting the streets running through Maverick to recapture the views to the waterfront as well as reconnecting the area to the commercial center and neighboring residential areas, this plan will change the relationship between Maverick and the community surrounding it to one of involvement and participation rather than isolation.
HOPE VI is a federally funded program that allows public housing authorities to apply for funding to redevelop severely distressed housing developments. Redevelopment under the HOPE VI program focuses on three areas: physical improvements, management improvements, and social and community services to address residents’ needs. The program is operated by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. The BHA has been awarded two grants, for Mission Main and Orchard Gardens, under this highly competitive program.
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