Nuestra is pleased to announce that construction will commence this fall on the Kasanof Bakery development, located on the corner of Blue Hill Avenue and Edgewood Street in Roxbury, after remaining vacant for more than a year following environmental remediation. As the Low Income Housing Tax Credit market collapsed in 2008, construction funding could not be fully acquired. At the same time, the foreclosure crisis and the resulting economic fallout began to severely impact the neighborhoods surrounding the Kasanof Bakery site. This 48 unit low income housing development will now bring 122 construction jobs to the one of the epicenters of the economic crisis here in Boston as well as housing for individuals and families earning less than 60% area median income.
“Our Board and staff are ecstatic that the state designated our project for federal recovery funding. We now plan on construction starting this fall,” noted David Price, Nuestra Comunidad’s Executive Director. “The community will benefit not only from the jobs and housing the project will create, but the stabilizing impact of such a large development right in the center of the foreclosure crisis here in Boston.”
Nuestra considers the Kasanof Bakery project to be a “deep green” development that could be a model for revitalizing the Blue Hill Avenue Corridor as it will not only create jobs and much needed affordable housing for the communities of Roxbury and North Dorchester, but will implement green technology into its building and infrastructure design that will significantly reduce its operational costs and environmental footprint. The development’s green design will maximize the health of the residents through safe materials and attention to improved air quality, avoiding the unintended hazards of older developments along Blue Hill Avenue, a congested roadway. By placing neighborhood residents into construction jobs, Nuestra allows hands-on training in new green construction methods, materials and systems. Kasanof Bakery, for example, will feature a geothermal heating system as part of Nuestra’s push for increased energy efficiency in its projects. Job placement will be carried out through partnerships with trade unions, job training programs such as YouthBuild Boston and local agencies specializing in construction job placement such as Quincy Geneva CDC and Project RIGHT.
“Nuestra’s Real Estate Development Team, particularly our Director of Real Estate Development, Marcia Thornhill, and Project Manager, Gavin McLear, have done what it takes to move this project forward in an extremely challenging economic climate. They’re to be commended for all their hard work,” concluded David Price. “This project has taken an enormous effort to bring to the construction phase. We can’t wait to get the crews on site and the foundation in the ground.”
The Kasanof Bakery Development was designed by The Architectural Team firm. The general contractor is CWC Builders. Acquisition/Predevelopment Lenders are Homefunders, CEDAC, Boston Community Capital, LISC, NeighborWorks Capital, Enterprise Green Communities. Permanent Lenders are MassHousing (First Mortgage and Priority Development Funds), DHCD (TCAP, HOME, AHTF, TOD), DND (HOME and Neighborhood Housing Trust), BRA (Inclusionary Zoning Funds), MassDevelopment, Enterprise Green Communities, Home Depot, and NeighborWorks America.
