Summer 2009 UPCOMING How To Purchase Pitching in with Are you a potential homebuyer Sign up for a FREE course!
Foreclosure Redevelopment Funds Still Available Last spring, DND announced the availability of $4 million in Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) funds made possible by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for the acquisition and rehabilitation of foreclosed and abandoned properties. These funds are designed to promote the creation of new homeownership and rental housing in those neighborhoods disproportionately affected by foreclosures. Applications for this funding are being accepted on a rolling admission basis until June 21, 2010 or until funds are expended. Applicant Packets are available here or at DND’s Bid Counter, Questions can be directed to John Feuerbach, Senior Development Officer, at 617.635.0353 or by e-mail, at jfeuerbach.dnd@cityofboston.gov. View all current DND Focus On: Under the leadership of Deputy Director, Theresa Gallagher, DND’s Neighborhood Housing Development division (NHD) works with non-profit and for-profit partners to develop and preserve affordable housing and create neighborhood open spaces. NHD seeks to enhance neighborhoods by renovating abandoned properties and providing housing and services for Boston's most vulnerable residents. Contact Us DND provides Boston residents with a host of services and resources related to home buying and home owning, affordable housing development, homelessness prevention, and small business assistance. To learn more, please visit us at www.cityofboston.gov/dnd Department of Neighborhood Development 26 Court Street Boston MA 02108 617.635.3880 |
A Message from Director Evelyn Friedman
Despite the unusually rainy start to the season, Boston’s neighborhoods have kept busy this summer. Here at DND, we’ve been working hard developing new, innovative programs to stabilize Boston’s housing market by helping homebuyers and homeowners, all under the umbrella of the Mayor’s new Homeownership Stabilization Initiative. This summer we also celebrated some of the City’s best commercial districts at our annual Boston Main Streets Annual Award Ceremony, and welcomed a host of new small businesses in our neighborhoods. We joined the Dorchester community for a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the long-awaited Kroc Community Center, celebrated new housing nearby at the Dudley Village Homes development – and much more!
Mayor Menino Releases Mid-Year Report on American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Funding
First City Nationwide to Report Six-Month Job Creation, Business Development and Infrastructure Improvement Data
On August 25, 2009, Boston became the first city in the nation to issue a mid-year report on its share of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding, highlighting a host of projects and major successes in job creation and community development. With $172.6 million in total funding thus far, the City of Boston has been able to launch 41 projects unlocking a further $162.2 million for a total economic investment of over $334.8 million citywide. Read more…
Mayor Menino Celebrates Boston Main Streets Achievements at 13th Annual Awards Ceremony
In early June, Mayor Menino, Director Friedman, and local media personality, Ron Della Chiesa, hosted the Boston Main Streets 13th Annual Awards Ceremony, at the University of Massachusetts Boston in Dorchester. Close to 40 awards were presented to the ‘Boston Main Streets Volunteers of the Year’ and ‘Businesses of the Year’ for 2008. Read more…
in Hyde Park
On August 15, 2009, Director Friedman joined Mayor Menino for five ribbon-cutting ceremonies for new businesses in Hyde Park. The businesses – Pure Joy Flowers, and four restaurants: Konteki Kitchen, The Hyde, Rincon Caribeno Restaurant, and Mexico Lindo – all received storefront design assistance from DND’s Office of Business Development. Find out more about OBD’s programs and services by visiting their website.
Mayor Menino cuts a ribbon at Pure Joy Flowers owned by Hyde Park residents Marta and Wesley Thomas.
View more photos here.
Mayor Menino Announces Boston's $18M Homeownership Stabilization Initiative
On Wednesday, July 29, 2009, Mayor Menino announced the City’s new Homeownership Stabilization Campaign, a comprehensive 12-month initiative through which the City has committed to spend as much as $18 million to help Boston’s neighborhoods recoup from the nationwide foreclosure crisis. Joined by state and local housing officials for the announcement, Mayor Menino described the campaign as having a two-part strategy to help retain and support existing homeowners while adding new buyers to the market through bolstered homeownership programs. Read more…
Mayor Menino, Boston Home Center to Host
Fourth Housing Fair
Mayor Menino and the Boston Home Center have now hosted three successful Housing Fairs, bringing together potential homebuyers, realtors, lenders, and non-profit housing education counselors – all in one location. A fourth fair has been scheduled for early fall.
Boston Home Center Housing Fair - Saturday, September 26, 2009
Mildred Avenue Community Center, Mattapan
11:00 A.M. – 4:00 P.M.
The Boston Home Center’s Housing Fairs are designed for those interested in buying or fixing up a home in Boston, or for people thinking about purchasing a foreclosed property. This one stop-shopping approach by the City gives homebuyers and owners direct access to information about to many of Boston’s Real Estate Owned (REO) properties, home repair resources, and information about increased financial assistance from the City of Boston, among other things. Visit the Boston Home Center’s website for more information.
Neighborhood Housing Development
City Celebrates Grand Opening
of Dudley Village Homes
On August 8, 2009, Mayor Menino and Director Evelyn Friedman joined the Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation (DBEDC), the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative (DSNI), and many community members to celebrate the grand opening of Dudley Village Homes in Dorchester. The five-building, $20 million transformation of Dudley Street brings 50 much needed affordable rental units for low-income residents in the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative (DSNI) core area. The project was made possible, in part, by a DND contribution of more than $2 million. Read more…
Mayor Menino, Salvation Army Break Ground at Future Site of Dorchester's $115M Community Center
On July 27, 2009, Mayor Menino joined state officials and the Salvation Army’s Massachusetts Divisional Commander, Major William Bode, for a groundbreaking ceremony at the future home of the Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center at 650 and 655 Dudley Street in Dorchester’s Upham’s Corner. Once completed, the 95,000-square-foot facility will replace a long vacant lot made up of more than six acres of land, and provide a host of recreational and social services to the Boston community.
“The Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center will be a vibrant addition and an invaluable resource for this neighborhood,” said Mayor Menino. “I want to thank the community for their vision, and the Salvation Army and Kroc family for their commitment to this project. Improving our neighborhoods requires a lot of hard work and compromise, and this is a great example of what can happen when everyone works together. It is an exciting day for all of us.” Read more…
Boston’s Brownfield Efforts Highlighted in Government Engineering Magazine
In the July-August 2009 issue of the environmental trade publication, "Government Engineering," Real Estate Management and Sales division Deputy Director Sandra Duran and Senior Project Manager Tom Barrasso, along with environmental consultant Ilene Gladstone, won the City of Boston some well-deserved attention for its work on Brownfields remediation in their published article entitled, "Boston’s Brownfields." Read the article here.