A proposal to create a mixed-use development in Boston's Dudley Square neighborhood received first prize in the 2002 Affordable Housing Development Competition. Sponsored by the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston, the Citizens' Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA), and the Boston Foundation, the competition paired local graduate students with Greater Boston housing professionals to develop innovative proposals for affordable housing.

The winners were announced at an awards ceremony on April 26 at the Colonnade Hotel in Boston. In attendance were members of the seven participating student teams, faculty advisors, and representatives from the sponsors and participating development organizations. Before the awards were made, students presented their development proposals and heard addresses by Rep. Michael Capuano (D-Mass.) and Anthony Flint, housing writer for The Boston Globe.

Rep. Capuano noted that "years ago, affordable housing looked anything but inviting." Large apartment buildings were often built with their backs to neighbors, their designs complementing neither the adjacent structures nor the needs of the neighborhood.

The student entries, in contrast, offered housing that is practical, attractive, and friendly. "I can truly say that I'd let my mother live in any of these developments," said Rep. Capuano.

First Place
Receiving first prize in this year's competition was the Dudley Square Artspace proposal by team members Martina Johnson, Teddy Kapur, Ryunosuke Konishi, Fernando Rojas, and Alastair Smith. The team's sponsor was the Madison Park Development Corporation, with Mark Dinaburg and Tunua Thrash collaborating with the students on the project. The first-place prize of $10,000 was divided between the developer and the winning team.

The proposal creates a mixed-use development in Boston's Roxbury/South End neighborhood through the acquisition of an existing building and construction of a new one. Although the development site is currently vacant, the parcels are slated for redevelopment this year.

The plan would create 25 units of new housing, including affordable living and working loft space for artists, affordable elderly housing, and market-rate lofts. It also calls for the relocation and expansion of an existing grocery store and the creation of new commercial, office, retail, and gallery space.

"The competition was a great experience — an intellectual challenge, but also invigorating," says Teddy Kapur, a student at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. "It was a really fun and exciting process to bring a vision you have to reality, knowing that in the process you're helping a community get better services and continue its process of revitalization."

"I was very impressed with the time and energy the judges spent reviewing the proposals. They really judged each approach with a critical eye as to whether it could go forward in the 'real world,'" says M. Susan Elliott, the Bank's executive vice president of member services. Ms. Elliott emceed the awards ceremony and facilitated the judging.

Second Place
Receiving second prize in this year's competition was the Mystic Horizons Assisted Living Residence proposal by team members Mike Beames, Connie Chung, Shawn Foutch, Susana Franco, and Lisa Talma. The project was sponsored by the Visiting Nurse Foundation, Inc. (VNF), with Executive Director Linda Cornell working with the student team. The developer and student team split a $6,000 prize.

The Mystic Horizons proposal calls for the construction of a 98-unit, mixed-income, independent-living facility for seniors. Developed in partnership with the Somerville Housing Authority, the proposal includes 74 rental units for low-income elders.

The development proposal also incorporates supportive services to promote aging in place for residents of Mystic Horizon and Capen Court, an adjacent Somerville Housing Authority senior housing development. Energy-efficient technology is incorporated into the development's modular design. The VNF is considering several sites in Somerville for possible development.

The Other Proposals
Five other student teams also presented proposals at the awards ceremony.

• The Armory Gardens proposal calls for the rehabilitation of the historic National Guard Armory in Waltham to create 22 rental units for veterans and families. The initiative also would create much-needed storage space for the city.
  
  
• The Duck Mill proposal calls for the acquisition and reuse of a Lawrence mill for conversion into a mixed-income development with ground-level retail space, nonprofit office space, artist studios, and an art gallery.
  
  
• The Gallivan Boulevard proposal recommends the rehabilitation and conversion of the 251-unit Gallivan Boulevard public housing development in Boston's Mattapan neighborhood into ownership units for residents.
  
  The Grove Hall Gateway proposal is for a 12-story, mixed-use development in Boston that includes commercial space on the ground floor and 120 affordable and market-rate apartments on the upper floors.
  
  
• And the Harrison Avenue Development proposal calls for the redevelopment of a city block that includes the conversion of the historic Joshua Bates School in Boston's South End into 90 rental and ownership units. The development would also provide work and living space for artists, a community garden, and a playground.

About the Competition
The competition provides graduate students with real-world learning experience and, in some cases, is the first step toward the development of the proposals. "Last year's second-place winner, the Hotel Dartmouth, is going forward," says Theo Noell, the Bank's community investment manager who coordinated the competition.

Each team consists of students with diverse skills and from different universities in the Boston area. The students are paired with a local development organization, which provides a feasible design site, and a faculty advisor, who provides guidance.

Participating in this year's competition were 40 students from Harvard University, MIT, Tufts University, North- eastern University, and the University of Melbourne, many of whom attended the ceremony.

Student work on the projects is completed during an eight-week period in the spring semester. Students generally meet once or twice a week and often receive credit for their work.

"The competition forces a kind of teaming up of people with complementary skills, and that itself is a positive experience," says Nicolas P. Retsinas, director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University. "It makes students better understand the complexity of these projects. And if we are ever going to do these projects, we need to figure out a way to work together to get them done."

The proposals were judged by five individuals, whose diverse areas of expertise reflect those of key decision-makers in affordable-housing development.

"Most of the not-for-profits that participated got a lot of really good work that will help them advance projects that they might not be able to put their resources into otherwise," says Kathleen Dorgan, an architect and urban planner who served as a judge for the competition. "I think the competition also created a lot of dialogue among the professionals who were working with the students about what is valuable and how projects should be done, and that really advances the practice."

"I definitely feel that the competition was very useful to us," adds Tunua Thrash, business district project manager at the Madison Park Development Corporation. "It forced us to think about things in a new way."

While the proposals are meant to address a broad range of affordable-housing issues, special emphasis is placed on physical design and financing. "The judges commented that the level of detail in the physical design and project scope of several of the proposals was more sophisticated than expected," says Aaron Gornstein, executive director of CHAPA.

To view the student teams' presentations, please visit the competition Web site, www.fhlbboston.com/compete.