Monday, April 8, 2013
At a Monday evening meeting, the Somerville Community Corporation and Cathartes Private Investments will reveal more details about their Union Square mixed-income housing proposal.
The Union Square neighborhood on Monday will learn more about a mixed-income housing development that's proposed in the eastern part of the square. The project, representing a partnership between the Somerville Community Corporation and Cathartes Private Investments, has evolved since the spring of 2012, when an earlier proposal caused bitter opposition from some in the neighborhood. The original plan, proposed by the Somerville Community Corporation alone, called for the construction of a 40-unit affordable housing apartment complex at the 181 Washington St. site of the former Boys & Girls Club. In February of this year, the non-profit group announced its partnership with Cathartes, and the new plan includes an adjoining 44-unit market …
42.379869
-71.090671
181 Washington St, Somerville, MA
/articles/monday-developers-to-unveil-plans-for-union-square-housing-development
/locations/9190954
42.37958
-71.09156
Cota Struzziero McKenna Funeral Home
197 Washington St, Somerville, MA
/articles/monday-developers-to-unveil-plans-for-union-square-housing-development
786547
/locations/9190955
Thursday, October 25, 2012
The Somerville Community Corporation showed off its newest project at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday.
At a ribbon-cutting ceremony held Wednesday, the Somerville Community Corporation inaugurated its newest building, at 75 Cross St. in East Somerville. The building contains eight affordable apartments that will be home to formerly homeless households, some of them families. People will begin moving in as early as Nov. 1, according to Danny LeBlanc, CEO of the Somerville Community Corporation. The $2.7 million project will provide project-based Section 8 affordable housing to tenants. The Somerville Community Corporation bought the property from a developer who intended to build condos on the site but ran into financial difficulties, LeBlanc said. The foundation was already built, so the building went up quickly, he said. "Eight families …
42.39643
-71.12248
Somerville Homeless Coalition
1 Davis Sq, Somerville, MA
/articles/photos-75-cross-street-to-provide-apartments-to-formerly-homeless-families
786924
/locations/8063877
42.38071
-71.098233
Somerville Community Corporation (SCC)
337 Somerville Ave, Somerville, MA
/articles/photos-75-cross-street-to-provide-apartments-to-formerly-homeless-families
1600888
/locations/8063878
42.38551
-71.08795
75 Cross St, Somerville, MA
/articles/photos-75-cross-street-to-provide-apartments-to-formerly-homeless-families
/locations/8063879
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Union Square Rising, a group that opposes an affordable housing proposal in Union Square, says there's a conflict of interest with a firm hired by the city to serve as mediators.
Union Square Rising, a group that opposes an affordable housing development proposed in Union Square, has decided to pull out of city-sponsored mediation that was intended to soothe bitter tensions connected to the proposal. Zac Zasloff, a leader of Union Square Rising, said in an email and in speaking with Somerville Patch the group's decision to pull out stems from a perceived conflict of interest with the firm hired to conduct the mediation, Consensus Building Institute, or CBI, out of Cambridge. The perceived conflict of interest arises from information, first published in the Somerville Journal, that one of CBI's managing directors, David Fairman, worked in 1989 for the Somerville Community Corporation, the non-profit group planning …
Thursday, July 12, 2012
The rally happened as two sides in a dispute about a housing development prepare to participate in a mediation process.
The Somerville Community Corporation, which is planning a 40-unit affordable housing development in Union Square, held a rally in support of affordable housing in that neighborhood Wednesday evening. The rally came two days after the organization and a group of neighbors who oppose the development announced they would participate in a mediation process sponsored by the city. The rift between the two groups had grown bitter after a series of community meetings during the winter and spring. The proposed development, at the former Boys & Girls Club at 181 Washington St., would include affordable rental units, some retail space and a new office for the Somerville Community Corporation. One of the organization's main goals at Wednesday's rally …
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
The owners of Burton F. Faulkner Towers, near the Somerville Public Library, have reached a deal that will keep the elderly housing units affordable.
Burton F. Faulkner Towers is a large affordable housing complex for elderly residents across the street from the Somerville Public Library. According to an announcement from MassHousing, it was built in 1978 with a government mortgage tied to creating affodable units, but the mortgage was set to be paid off in 2018, at which point the owners could convert the units to market rate housing. However, MassHousing's announcement said the owners recently reached an agreement on a new $10.1 million loan that will keep the complex affordable. Here's the announcement from MassHousing: Senior Housing Community in Somerville will Remain Affordable for Long Term MassHousing's $10.1 million loan will preserve affordable rents for elderly residents at …
42.38494
-71.09365
Burton F. Faulkner Towers
25 Highland Ave, Somerville, MA
/articles/large-elderly-housing-complex-to-remain-affordable
787391
/locations/7405812
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
The mayor has encouraged both sides in a contentious neighborhood dispute to sit down with professional mediators.
A dispute over a proposed affordable housing project in Union Square became so heated the mayor's office has decided to sponsor professional mediation among the groups involved. The city will use the Consensus Building Institute, known as CBI, based in Cambridge, to sit down with the Somerville Community Corporation, which is planning the affordable housing project, Union Square Rising, a resident group opposed to the project, and others in the neighborhood to see if there's any common ground. Maybe there is, maybe there isn't. The Somerville Community Corporation proposal, for the former Boys & Girls Club Building at 181 Washington St., currently calls for 40 units of affordable housing at the site. Somerville Community Corporation owns …
42.379869
-71.090671
181 Washington St, Somerville, MA
/articles/couples-counseling-in-union-square-affordable-housing-dispute
/locations/7397019
Monday, June 25, 2012
Rep. Michael Capuano joined city and state officials Monday to officially open Saint Polycarp Village Phase II, which has 29 units of affordable rental housing.
Rep. Michael Capuano, Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone and a slate of other officials conducted a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday to officially open Saint Polycarp Village Phase II, a $10 million section of Saint Polycarp Village. Saint Polycarp Village is a $30 million affordable housing community in Winter Hill, built along Mystic Avenue by the Somerville Community Corporation. The community, now close to being finished, sits on the former Saint Polycarp Parish land once owned by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston. Phase I of the project, with 24 rental units, was completed in 2009, and Phase II, which Capuano was celebrating Monday, opened in February and has 29 rental units. Construction on Phase III of the project, the final …
42.395628
-71.09091
16 Butler Dr, Somerville, MA
/articles/congressman-officials-inaugurate-saint-polycarp-affordable-housing-project-photos
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The congressman will join Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone and other officials for a ribbon cutting Monday afternoon.
Ed. note: The following was sent by Somerville Community Corporation: With the completion of Saint Polycarp Village Phase II, the site of the former Saint Polycarp Parish is continuing its transformation into a vibrant mixed use community, located at a key gateway into Somerville. Somerville Community Corporation (SCC) will celebrate the completion of Phase II with a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony on Monday June 25nd at 12:30pm. Event speakers include Congressman Michael Capuano, Mayor Joseph Curtatone and Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development Undersecretary Aaron Gornstein. The Ribbon Cutting will take place at 16 Butler Drive in Somerville. This is the second of three Phases of new construction on the site and includes …
42.395628
-71.09091
16 Butler Dr, Somerville, MA
/articles/capuano-to-celebrate-opening-of-saint-polycarp-phase-ii-monday
/locations/7310742
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
A debate about an affordable housing development in Union Square centers on a fundamental disagreement about one question: Are high-density affordable housing buildings good or bad for neighborhoods? (See poll at bottom.)
Last week, a group of Union Square residents picketed a community meeting about a planned affordable housing development in the neighborhood. The development, proposed by Somerville Community Corporation, would convert the former Boys & Girls Club building at 181 Washington St. into 40 units of affordable rental housing. One of the fundamental disagreements about the project has to do with the nature of affordable housing. The Somerville Community Corporation, a non-profit, is dedicated to supporting affordable housing initiatives because it believes a diverse housing stock leads to a stronger community. Members of Union Square Rising, the opposition group, say affordable housing is fine, but in moderation. Too much of it, concentrated in …
42.379869
-71.090671
181 Washington St, Somerville, MA
/articles/poll-does-affordable-housing-have-a-bad-name
/locations/7196349
Thursday, June 7, 2012
One man called protesters "racist pigs" as the debate over a Union Square affordable housing development continues.
Union Square Rising, a group that opposes a proposed 40-unit affordable housing development in Union Square, picketed a community meeting about the project Wednesday night. One person attending the meeting called the protesters "racist pigs" as he walked into the school cafeteria where it was taking place. Inside the school, about 100 people participated in a comparatively uneventful presentation about the project's design features. Members of Union Square Rising stood in the tot lot of the Argenziano School, where the meeting took place, holding signs that read, "We will not be silenced," "We live here" and "Build something for EVERYONE in Somerville." The group says it hasn't been given the opportunity at community meetings to voice …
42.379367
-71.099156
Dr. Albert F. Argenziano School at Lincoln Park
290 Washington St, Somerville, MA
/articles/union-square-group-pickets-affordable-housing-meeting
1346714
/locations/7163428
42.379869
-71.090671
Somerville School Department
181 Washington St, Somerville, MA
/articles/union-square-group-pickets-affordable-housing-meeting
1426483
/locations/7163429
42.38071
-71.098233
Somerville Community Corporation (SCC)
337 Somerville Ave, Somerville, MA
/articles/union-square-group-pickets-affordable-housing-meeting
1600888
/locations/7163430
Mark Alston-Follansbee
3:59 pm on Thursday, October 25, 2012
good work; thank you for the story more ›