Developers are hoping to put the finishing touch on a revitalized Dudley Square community in Boston with proposed new housing units for low-income senior citizens who need some assistance with everyday tasks.
Peter Roth, president of New Atlantic Development Corp. in Boston, said his company is in the midst of securing funding for the project, which would convert a school-turned-warehouse into a 43-unit assisted living facility designed exclusively for lower-income residents.
“This whole area is experiencing a renaissance right now,” Roth said, referring to the area around Dudley Square in Roxbury, where the assisted living facility would be located at 25 Ruggles St. “There’s a flurry of activity going on.
“We feel our project would be an important component of the revitalized community around Dudley,” he continued.
Across the street from 25 Ruggles St., construction is under way on Shawmut Estates, which along with nearby Davenport Commons will provide affordable housing through a cooperative effort between the city and Northeastern University. Across Shawmut Avenue from Shawmut Estates is the thriving Madison Park Village residential housing complex, which has a waiting list of potential tenants. On the commercial side, office space around Washington Street is being renovated or newly constructed at several locations, providing opportunities for companies being squeezed out of the expensive downtown Boston market.
Also, in addition to the nearby Dudley Square and Ruggles MBTA stations, new Silver Line dedicated bus service will soon reach the area.
According to Jeanne Pinado, executive director of Madison Park Development Corp., the assisted living facility would make a positive impact on the neighborhood. “It’s an old school building,” she said of 25 Ruggles St., “back when this neighborhood used to be a neighborhood before urban renewal came. It was one of the more important buildings, and for a long time it was abandoned and became a magnet for undesirable activity.”
She added that the assisted living facility, combined with the other projects, “will accomplish the bigger objective of helping to stabilize the Dudley business district and improving the character of the neighborhood.”
The building at 25 Ruggles St. sits on a 27,516-square-foot lot and is the largest vacant structure in a block that is target for revitalization. Proponents of the project maintain that redeveloping that building will be a catalyst for further development in the block, where there are currently several vacant structures and lots.
According to Roth, his proposal is the first in the state for an assisted living facility that is entirely for low-income seniors. “Assisted living is something that is needed in all income brackets,” he said. “Everyone is doing upper-end developments to make money, but there’s no one there for the bottom end. For low-income people, there’s no supply.”
Targeting Residents
Working with New Communities Services in collaboration with the Committee to End Elder Homelessness, New Atlantic is currently securing funding for the project. Funding through Community Development Block Grants and low-income housing tax credits is crucial to the success of the project, Roth said.
“Because the service costs are identical, we need to cover real estate costs with public funds because we can’t carry a debt. One hundred percent of the fees go to pay for utilities, staffing, meals and other services. With affordable assisted living, we don’t have money left over to pay off debt on the real estate.” Funding awards from the state are expected to be announced around April.
Once completed, the project will include 43 individual studio apartments with kitchenettes and private baths. Eighteen of the units would be prioritized for seniors who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. The remaining 25 would be set aside for seniors who are nursing-home eligible but wish to continue living in the community rather than entering an institutional setting.
“We’re hoping to target the minority community in Roxbury, Dorchester, Jamaica Plain and Mattapan,” Roth said. “We want to serve those in the community.”
Plans call for gutting the existing three-story structure and adding a three-story addition at the rear of the building to provide a total of 21,370 square feet of assisted living space. The first floor would include a common sitting area, library space, service and staff spaces, and a sunroom overlooking a garden. The third floor of the building would be used exclusively as an Alzheimer’s unit.
Roth said all necessary permits, zoning changes and approvals for the project have been granted by various city boards. The project also gained the approval of the community. Roth said there was some concern about parking because the building is in a neighborhood where on-street parking is at a premium, but plans call for 18 parking spaces to be constructed on the site for staff and visitors. If there is a need for more spaces, such as during holidays when more residents are likely to receive visitors, there is a municipal parking lot adjacent to Shawmut Estates, he added.
Concerns were also expressed about the safety of the building’s residents, but the cleaning up of adjacent vacant lots and the fact that the building will be staffed 24 hours a day calmed those fears, Roth said. “People had very legitimate concerns about their neighborhood and the frail elders that would be living here,” Roth said, “but now those issues are nonexistent.”
Roth said if the proper financing comes through in the spring, he hopes to break ground on the project in September. Construction on the $4.9 million project would take about a year. Once completed, the building would be turned over to nonprofit organizations to run.
“This building is perfect,” Roth said. “It’s close to an active and vital business district, but it’s off to the side, and tucked back away which makes for good living conditions for seniors.”
