We intend to explore development opportunities for a 4.7-acre site (known as the former "New Balance" site) in Brighton with the hope of reusing what is now a virtually vacant industrial site as a location for residential and commercial development that will meet the needs of the Allston Brighton neighborhood. A private developer recently proposed the idea of creating a high-density, luxury residential complex. Based on both negative feedback from both the neighborhood and city officials, the developer withdrew its proposal. Allston Brighton Community Development Corporation will be discussing other options with the current owner of the property that would meet the parameters of the neighborhood and city officials.

We are looking for a proposal to redevelop the "Crescent Parcel," a publicly owned piece of land at the intersection of Columbus/Tremont and Melnea Cass Blvd. in Roxbury. The parcel is governed by the Roxbury Master Plan, which takes effect in January 2004. We expect that an RFP for the site will come out before the end of 2005.

Neighborhood Housing Services of the South Shore has joined with the local homeless shelter to create a "Housing First" model of dealing with homelessness. We are targeting 32 single-room-occupancy units to be developed jointly with Father Bill's Place. Purchase and sale is very likely to proceed.

Mixed-use development of retail, rental and homeownership units on 2.67 acres of vacant land. Nuestra Comunidad Development Corporation closed on the site at the end of 2003 and has recently hired an architect. Community-organization efforts are set to begin in March.

Gerri Bain
781-422-4236
gbain@southshorehousing.org

John Hixson
781-585-3885
jhixson@southshorehousing.org

The town of Carver is looking to partner with South Shore Housing Development Corporation (SSH) to acquire a large property of about 200 acres known as Cole Mill, bisected by a newly built limited-access section of U.S. Route 44, just east of State route 58. While the land has several cranberry bogs and wetlands, it also has uplands off of two town roads and an aquifer site that could provide a wellhead that Carver could share with neighboring Plympton and Middleborough. The land can also support both elderly housing and family homes and perhaps continuation of the cranberry bogs. This would be a fascinating, multifaceted study of mixed land uses and specific developments. The town sees multiple solutions to local issues being resolved by the purchase and thoughtful development of this privately owned parcel. A volunteer SSH board member from Carver has urged SSH to work with the town on this project. SSH has 30 years in the business, and has developed a 40-unit elderly property in Carver. SSH administers 10 rental subsidies there, and SSH will conduct an affordable-housing lottery there later this year.

Betsy Meissner
781-891-6689
betsy@watchcdc.org

WATCH CDC, as part of the Fernald Working Group (FWG), is proposing a novel smart-growth project on the site of the Fernald Street School. At 200 acres and a proposed 800 housing units, this is a large project. The Waltham community and the FWG would like some assistance in planning integrated, flexible housing for current Fernald residents involving new construction and adaptive reuse. State DMR has site control. The Fernald Reuse Committee has met once. The FWG is proposing a charette to speed the planning process and increase community input.