Last updated on June 18, 2018
Boston is recommending that Community Preservation Act funds be used for 35 projects across the city, including for affordable housing in Jamaica Plain.
“The Community Preservation Act is a new tool that will help take our work on affordable housing, historic preservation and open space to the next level,” said Mayor Marty Walsh via press release. “I am proud to recommend these important projects for funding approval, which represent a wide range of needs and will build strong neighborhoods throughout our city.”
The city previously called for applications for projects that require less than $500,00 to begin construction by this fall. The recommended projects were broken into several categories: historic preservation, affordable housing, recreational use and open space, and blended historic preservation/recreational use and open space.
There were two Jamaica Plain projects recommended to receive Community Preservation Act funds. The first being Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation’s (JPNDC) proposal to put three parcels together to build eight affordable units at Carolina Avenue and Call Street. The city recommended the project receive $500,000 in CPA funding. That project was one of only three affordable housing projects recommended to receive funding throughout the city.
The city also recommended that Olmsted Park receive $500,000 as a blended historic preservation/recreational use and open space project. The city previously held meetings for Olmsted Park to undergo woodlands restoration, stair stabilization and landscape improvements. That project’s estimated construction budget is $575,000, according to boston.gov.
The city also recommended that Franklin Park’s Bears Frieze, or bear cages, receive $49,500. In the past there have been desires to renovate the bear dens, according to the Jamaica Plain Gazette. JP resident Christine Poff, who is leading the city’s Community Preservation Committee, was previously the executive director of the Franklin Park Coalition, and the coalition has tried to rehab the dens.
The city held a hearing on the recommendations on Monday night, and the mayor’s office expected the Boston City Council to vote Wednesday on the funds.