Groundbreaking & Ribbon Cutting at Jackson Square
Oct 29, 2013
Mayor Thomas M. Menino today joined Jackson Square Partners, a collaboration led by Urban Edge and the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation (JPNDC), to celebrate the ribbon cutting for 225 Centre Street and a ground breaking for 1542 Columbus Avenue. Both developments are part of the $250 million Jackson Square Redevelopment Master Plan, which includes more than 400 units of housing, 60,000 square feet of ground floor retail, and two major community facilities.
“The City of Boston has invested more than $7 million into the redevelopment of these once vacant and underutilized public and private parcels adjacent to the Jackson Square MBTA station,” Mayor Menino said. “Working together, we have begun the work of knitting back together these neighborhoods once torn apart by the threat of highway expansion.”
The ribbon cutting for 225 Centre Street completes the first phase of this redevelopment. The $53 million is a mixed-use, mixed-income, transit-oriented development with 103 units of housing and more than 17,000 square feet of ground floor retail, as well as community facilities.
The 225 Centre Street development includes 68 market rate rental units and 35 affordable rental units. Of the 35 affordable rental units, 10 are set aside for tenants who are formerly homeless, made possible by an award of project-based vouchers from the Boston Housing Authority.
In accordance with the City of Boston’s Green Affordable Housing Program, 225 Centre Street boasts high efficiency heating and cooling systems fixtures as well as Energy Star rated appliances. The development also employed environmentally friendly design features throughout and has earned LEED Silver designation, while also meeting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star standards. The 225 Centre Street development team is made up of Mitchell Properties; Community Builders; ADD, Inc.; and Walsh Brothers.
The 225 Centre Street development was been made possible in part by a contribution of more than $3.5 million from the City of Boston, as well as $1 million from the State’s Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) and the Affordable Housing Trust. Despite the difficult credit market, Mitchell Properties and The Community Builders were able to secure $8 million in Low Income Housing Tax Credits through DHCD as well as 4.5 million in State Tax Credits.
Jackson Commons, situated directly across the street from 225 Centre, is another significant piece of the Jackson Square Redevelopment Plan that Mayor Menino launched in 2004. When construction is complete in 2014, the 23,600 square-foot, 3-story building will boast 37 units of affordable rental housing, 10,000 square feet of office space, 2,000 square feet of retail space on the first floor, and a community room and a common indoor space for use by residents. The rental units will be mixed income, ranging from low-income to middle income, with 29 units be marketed to 30 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI); three units for households earning up to 80 percent of AMI; and 5 units will be created for households earning up to 110 percent of AMI.
The development will make available 114 full-time construction jobs that will engage workers in new ‘green’ construction methods, materials, and systems. Boston residents may access these jobs through an application process that is being co-managed by Urban Edge Community Development Corporation, New Ecology and Winn Residential.
In total when complete the $250 million Jackson Square Redevelopment Master Plan will include more than 400 units of housing, 60,000 square feet of ground floor retail, two major community facilities,10,000 square feet of office space, and will have generated an estimated 276 construction jobs. Among other funding sources, Urban Edge has received more than $4 million in funding assistance from the City of Boston and more than $2 million from the State’s Department of Housing and Community Development.