HOUSING BOSTON 2012
CITY OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS
Office of the Mayor
Thomas M. Menino
On behalf of the City of Boston, I wish to extend my sincere appreciation to everyone who attended Housing Boston 2012: Strategies for High-Cost Cities. We had over 500 experts and practitioners from across the nation here in Boston to explore innovative solutions and begin mapping out a new plan of action to address Boston’s housing challenges. The conference featured national housing experts, including Henry Cisneros, Executive Chairman, CityView, Inc., the former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; Congressman Barney Frank, Chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee; and Richard Syron, Freddie Mac President and Chief Executive Officer. In addition, the conference drew leading housing experts from Boston, the region, and across our great nation.
In 2000, the City of Boston launched a pioneering and productive housing strategy called, Leading the Way. Following the successful completion of this three-year plan, the city embarked on an even more ambitious plan with Leading the Way II. Combined, these housing initiatives led to the permitting of more than 18,000 units of new housing in the City of Boston, the equivalent of adding a new neighborhood the size of Jamaica Plain or West Roxbury. More than 4,800 of these units are affordable housing. In addition, more than 5,000 affordable rental units have been saved from going market-rate, and more than 1,600 public housing units have been redeveloped or renovated, including almost 800 long-vacant units.
Leading the Way I & II produced immense results for our city and its people, and as we come to the conclusion of Leading the Way II, we need to take a hard look at what the future holds. In order to improve upon our two previous campaigns, we must continue to adapt our housing strategy so we can meet and exceed the needs of tomorrow.
Housing Boston 2012 brought the leading minds in housing policy together to address the housing crisis that exists in high-cost cities. This conference was only the beginning of the discussion. For while we are proud of our accomplishments, and I appreciate the hard work of all of our housing partners – developers, both non-profit and for-profit, the members of the community, and the staff of our city agencies – we all recognize that there is more work to be done. Our future depends on all of you making certain that many of the wonderful ideas we discovered and explored come to fruition.
Many thanks to the sponsors of the housing conference: Bank of America, KeySpan, Local Initiatives Support Corporation, Schneider Associates, Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation, NEWIRE, Warren Group, City of Boston Department of Neighborhood Development, Boston Redevelopment Authority, and the Boston Housing Authority.
Our top priority now is to move forward with new ideas and a new set of ambitious goals. As a result, I invite to please follow up at the link below. Once again, thank you for all your hard work and for making Housing Boston 2012: Strategies for High-Cost Cities such a wonderful success.
Sincerely,
Thomas M. Menino
Mayor of Boston
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